ITV’s Doc Martin comes out on top for second week, still grumpy
Last night saw Martin Clunes dour expression once again lock in the 9pm slot for commercial broadcaster ITV as the seventh series of Doc Martin continued in good health, despite taking a noticeable drop in popularity.
Last week delivered a new run of grumpy but lightweight regional doctoring to 5.6 million baying fans. Although this proved a good result for ITV last Monday, the show was actually down -2 million viewers from the series six début two years ago.
Last night’s second episode once again provided its unique brand of small town distraction as the b stories local residents bumbled about in a comic fashion while Dr Martin Ellingham busied himself with the return of his estranged wife and toddler son. So plenty to be cantankerous about, at least.
Yesterday saw 5.4 million viewers – the time slot’s biggest audience – tuned in to see if Louisa, a little giggling baby boy, or even the gorgeous Cornish backdrop, could make the doctor smile, resulting in a 25% share.
At the same time, Channel 4 again left the coast for the rough and unforgiving seas in the third episode of The Catch (9pm), moving the very familiar and successful fixed camera rig/confessional doc format to the salty deck of a fishing trawler.
Last night’s episode saw the crew of the Devon vessel, the Govenek, clash with the French in the no man’s land of deep-sea fishing, resulting in 879,000 viewers and a 4% share.
Things were slightly less hair-raising over on BBC One, with the first episode of fascinating, infuriating and slightly depressing real life tale of excess, All Change at Longleat (9pm). There was even slightly less coarse language too.
The first of three episodes to take a behind-the-scenes look at a £190 million Wiltshire stately home, and the spiritually lonesome souls who haunt its corridors, focused on the relationship between the ‘flamboyant’ Marquess of Bath and his heir-in-waiting son Ceawlin.
Why anyone with so much wealth and power would chose to invite a documentary crew to expose fractured relationships to a national audience is anyone’s guess but 2.1 million viewers and a 10% share jumped at the chance to gawp.
Meanwhile on the contrary nadir of the cultural experience was Channel 5’s Celebrity Big Brother although there were still plenty of sorry spectres to look at. 1.7 million viewers caught up with the excitement in the compound where hope goes to die, resulting in an 8% share and the Channel 5’s biggest hit of the day.
As usual, BBC Two went all highbrow in order to stand out against the glut of real life confessionals, with Countdown to Life: The Extraordinary Making of You (9pm) aiming to explore the journey from conception to birth.
The first of three episodes looked at the essential first eight weeks of development and all the things that can go wrong, netting 1.6 million viewers and a 7% share.
Earlier at 8pm, the archived footage in ITV’s vaults was once again hastily raided, with the latest Britain as Seen on ITV. Today’s random collection of scenes fell under the theme of Britain Always Had Talent.
2.8 million viewers tuned in to see clips of The Beatles, Cilla and all those other famous people who were born on these shores, resulting in a 13% share.
On Channel 4, the double nourishment whammy of Jamie’s Super Food (8pm) and Food Unwrapped (8:30pm) brought in 1.2 million viewers (a 6% share) and 1.3 million viewsers (another 6% share), respectively.
As if there was any doubt, soaps made up Monday’s most popular shows, with Emmerdale at 7pm netting 5.8 million viewers and a 31% share.
EastEnders at 8pm on BBC One, saw Sharon accidentally come face-to-face with raised-from-the-dead nemesis Kathy Beale, leading to some catty violence in the Arches along with 6.6 million viewers and a 30% share.
But it was two episodes of Coronation Street action that took the top two spots, with the first episode at 7:30pm securing 7.2 million viewers and a 35% share while 7 million tuned in at 8:30pm to see a heroic Ken Barlow come to the aid of Audrey Roberts, resulting in a 31% 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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