Silent Witness finale beats Paul O’Grady for 9pm glory
Tuesday night brought an end to the highly successful eighteenth series of BBC One’s evergreen (and recently, Broadchurch-slaying) forensic drama, Silent Witness (9pm).
Having dumped the entire series on viewers over a five week period, yesterday brought the second consecutive night of scientific sleuthing as Dr Nikki Alexander and the token male characters were caught up with some ruffians from down Essex way.
The second and final part of the latest case saw the pathological playmates tasked with finding out who was responsible for the revenge torching of a criminal after a policeman was found burned alive in his car.
After beating Broadchurch for the past two weeks, Silent Witness didn’t have to try very hard to fend off last night’s 9pm competitors. A 25% audience share watched as prim and proper Dr Nikki got up close and personal with terrifying common folk sporting aggressive accents, easily securing the time slot.
In January 2014, the finale of the 17th series managed to attract a little over 5 million people, with this year’s series-closer improving on that figure. Last night an audience of 6 million viewers tuned in for a little bit of criminal closure, cementing viewer consistency for the entire current run.
There was some more finality on offer over on ITV as Silent Witness‘ biggest challenger wrapped up its short second series. The third and final portion of Paul O’Grady’s Animal Orphans (9pm) once again saw the former cabaret star fawn over ‘tragic’ animals who hadn’t the slightest clue what was going on.
2.4 million viewers (a 10% share) watched O’Grady gush over the bizarre friendship between a rhino and a sheep with no mammy and daddy *sniff* before being forced to clean up honey badger faeces.
Speaking of claustrophobic smelly enclosures, BBC Two launched a brand new series aimed at dragging simple plebs like you and me Inside the Commons. Filmed over the course of an entire year, the first of four episodes was a day-in-the-life look at everyone from David Cameron to the Big Ben-abseiling tea lady.
1.7 million viewers took the hand of presenter and friend of the significant, Michael Cockerell, for a very random tour, helping net a 7% share.
Speaking of straight-up crooks, Channel 4 offered up the chance to spend another delightful 24 Hours in Police Custody at 9pm. Last night’s particularly soul-eroding jaunt to lovely Luton focused on crimes against the elderly, guaranteeing fun times for all.
943,000 watched the shocking tale unfold of a mentally ill man who constantly sexually assaulted the vulnerable in graveyards, resulting in a 4% share.
Speaking of the psychologically unsound, Channel 5 spent some more time with the incarcerated nightmares of Celebrity Big Brother at 9pm. As the cheap and easy attention grabbing vehicle for the broadcaster hurtled towards this week’s finale, 2.2 million lost souls watched shrieking spectre Perez Hilton ruin yet another day, translating to a 9% share.
An hour earlier, BBC One was already leading the ratings race with the latest slice of institutional perfunctory drama on Holby City (8pm), which secured 4.9 million and a 22% share.
Over on BBC Two, Alex Polizzi once again made an effort to feel alive by lambasting tired and stressed out souls in the latest exciting episode of Alex Polizzi – The Fixer (8pm). 1.9 million viewers spent an hour watching Alex being mean to the financial by stressed owners of a soft-play area, netting a 9% share.
On ITV, Bad Builders – Bang to Rights (8pm) was watched by 2.3 million viewers (a 10% share) while The Jump (8pm) continued to crash on Channel 4 with 1.8 million viewers and an 8% share.
Way back at teatime, Emmerdale (7pm) bagged the day’s number two spot on ITV, with Aaron and Robert’s stormy relationship netting 6.1 million viewers and a 30% share. Straight afterwards, a repeat of the 2012 documentary Deirdre and Me (7:30pm), a tribute to the late Anne Kirkbride, brought in 2.7 million viewers.
At the same time, BBC One’s EastEnders was busy securing yesterday’s number one spot, with 7.4 million viewers tuning in to see the ever-suffering Carter family’s latest crisis (a euthanasia debate).
The build up to this month’s live episodes/anniversary/Lucky Beale reveal has seen an increased performance from the soap, with last night’s illness-related drama resulting in a 34% share.
Overnight data is available each morning in mediatel.co.uk’s TV Database, with all BARB registered subscribers able to view reports for terrestrial networks and key multi-channel stations. Overnight data supplied by TRP are based on 15 minute slot averages. This may differ from tape checked figures, which are based on a programme’s actual start and end time.
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