ITV’s Corrie Live fails to defeat the might of the Bake Off
Five years after Coronation Street Live (7:30pm) surprised the nation and pulled one out of the bag for its 50th anniversary celebrations, yesterday evening saw ITV’s flagship soap at it again, delivering a hour of big shocks, solid acting and minimal mistakes.
Much to the relief of long-suffering fans, the whole ‘Callum problem’ was surprisingly dealt with swiftly and brutally in the first fifteen minutes, effectively ‘wrapping up’ the entire storyline after a strained year and at last giving loyal viewers some closure.
Back in December 2010, a massive 13.4 million viewers tuned in to see the tram come off the viaduct and crash into the cobbles, in a technically impressive live production.
Yesterday’s audience reflected the fact that the most recent live effort wasn’t such a significant milestone in the soap’s history, instead concocted to celebrate ITV’s 60th anniversary.
An above average audience of 8.1 million viewers watched as the promised cat and mouse chase storyline quickly descended into a violent confrontation, leading into a brand new predicament for the Platts – is there any corner left on the street where a bludgeoned corpse hasn’t already been hidden?
All-in-all the tight production and rehearsals paid off in dividends with Coronation Street Live failing to ape any of EastEnders‘ live hiccups. Although the effort did net a strong audience and a 36% share and topped the Twitter chart, it wasn’t actually the biggest show of the day, surely something of a defeat for ITV.
Complementing ITV’s soap sandwich was a double dose of Emmerdale action, with an episode either side of the Weatherfield drama.
5.8 million viewers tuned in at 7pm to see horrible people doing horrible things to each other in a rural setting, netting a 33% share, with the second helping of picturesque betrayal at 8:30pm bring in 5.7 million viewers and a 24% share.
Over on BBC One, the calm drama produced by quarter finals of The Great British Bake Off (8pm) was enough to fight off ITV’s real-time soap as patisserie week sent one particular contestant crashing dramatically out of the competition.
Wednesday’s biggest audience tuned in to see Mel and Sue have a verbal field day as cream horns were on the menu, although the ratings were definitely affected by the live shenanigans over on its main commercial rival.
In total 8.4 million viewers watched as Nadiya continued to provide as many cartoon facial expressions as there are emoticons on your smartphone, resulting in a 35% share and proving that the increasingly popular show can defeat one of ITV’s biggest events of the year.
Over on BBC Two the eccentric Professor Hans Rosling put on a PowerPoint show to put many office dwellers to shame with the amazing Don’t Panic – How to End Poverty in 15 Years (8pm). Unfortunately the assault of insightful statistics and near-future visuals only manged to attract 436,000 viewers and a 2% share.
[advert position=”left”]Over on Channel 4, Posh Pawn (8pm) won over 738,000 viewers (a 3 % share) while Channel 5’s The Nightmare Neighbour Next Door (8pm) was watched by 435,000 viewers and a 2% share.
At 9pm, Doctor Foster (BBC One) continued to spiral down a dodgy path with some interesting life choices and a consistently strong audience.
5.6 million viewers (a 35% share) tuned in to see the third episode of the tense drama about a married GP, played by Suranne Jones, whose family life is shattered after uncovering a few nasty secrets.
On BBC Two, the fourth and final part of The Ascent of Woman (9pm) looked at the all-important revolutionary women throughout history and brought in 446,000 viewers and a 2% share.
After ITV’s big soap-fest, 9pm saw the broadcaster launch a new three-part spooky drama Midwinter of the Spirit which starred the brilliant Anna Maxwell Martin as a priest and trainee exorcist (as you do) with the eerie drama securing just over 2 million viewers and a 10% share.
At the same time on Channel 4, Kevin McCloud and his egregious tone cast judgement on a property on the Isle of Wight. Filed under the ‘spiralling budget’ class of episodes, the latest Grand Designs (9pm) netted 1.8 million viewers and a 9% 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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