Men Behaving Badly reunion on Doc Martin bags 5.9m for ITV
11 years after debuting on British TV screens, there seems to be no slowing down the intricate petulance of Martin Clunes’ Doc Martin (9pm) with the latest series consistently bagging the prime time slot for ITV.
The lightweight drama – about an arrogant London GP with a crippling sensitivity to blood who is exiled to a picturesque Cornish village populated with kooky regional misfit types – launched in 2004 and has randomly treated viewers to six series and a TV film over the intervening years.
After a two year absence the difficult doctor returned to the airwaves back in September for a seventh series and, despite seeing a -2 million viewers drop compared to the previous series opener, has easily secured its important time slot for the commercial broadcaster.
Last night’s small town silliness saw Clunes grapple with his former Men Behaving Badly cohort Caroline Quentin who played a suitable barmy vet. The latest charming tale, which saw the Doc attempt to get his perfectly healthy and loyal dog put down, resulted in 5.9 million viewers and a 29% share.
Meanwhile, for some reason BBC One was paying some serious fan service to 29 year old Manchester United forward Wayne Mark Rooney in Rooney: The Man Behind the Goals (9pm), a full on PR onslaught heavily featuring his ever-present doting wife.
3.3 million viewers tuned in to find out intimate details about England’s most prolific footballer, including his love for writing poetry, resulting in a 16% share for BBC One and topping yesterday’s TV Twitter chart.
On BBC Two, anthropologist Alice Roberts and archaeologist Neil Oliver kicked off a new three part history series looking at a the rock stars of the iron age.
The first part of the superfluously titled The Celts: Blood, Iron and Sacrifice with Alice Roberts and Neil Oliver (9pm) looked at the origins and beliefs of the ancient group, bringing in 1.6 million viewers and an 8% share.
Channel 4 was back on the high seas with The Catch at 9pm, netting an audience of 800,000 and a 4% share.
Also at 9pm, Channel 5 was busy reaching the nadir of its weekly output with the latest barrel-scraping Autopsy: The Last Hours of… This week’s lucky contestant was former teen idol Heath Ledger whose intimate details of his last night on earth secured 762,000 viewers and a 4% share.
[advert position=”left”]A little earlier, viewers finally got to the end of Britain As Seen on ITV (8pm) with the last instalment of the loosely themed clipathon looking at all things ‘rule Britannia’. 2.9 million viewers tuned in for the last cobbled together collection of random clips, netting a 14% share.
On Channel 4 the double whammy of Jamie’s Super Food and Food Unwrapped netted 1.1 million and 1.4 million viewers, respectively.
BBC Two’s double helping of cerebral fun kicked off at 8pm, with University Challenge neting 2.8 million viewers and Only Connect (8:30pm) managing 2.1 million.
Things got a little clandestine over on BBC One with the latest Panorama (8:30pm) delving into the murky waters of privacy with Edward Snowden: Spies and the Law. The exclusive interview with the former US government contractor attracted 2 million viewers and a 10% share.
Earlier the schedule was once again overrun by the soaps, with ITV’s tale of murder and shouty conversations, Emmerdale, securing 6.1 million viewers and a 32% share.
Meanwhile, EastEnders managed to pull the rug from under its viewers’ feet once again, with last night’s surprise twist falling more into the extremely wrong category.
6.4 million viewers tuned in at 8pm to see Aunt Babe seduce and destroy some sweaty young man, leading to a few bumps in the night, an unpleasant shock for Linda and Mick Carter and a 30% share.
A double dollop of ITV’s Coronation Street took the day’s top two spots as Sally Webster attempted to get married again, despite the little matter of the groom calling it off.
7.4 million viewers tuned in at 7:30pm, leading to a 36% share, while 8:30pm brought in another 7.4 million viewers, with Tim’s decision resulting in a 35% 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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