Business as usual as ITV’s I’m a Celebrity pulls in 7.2m
As if there was ever any doubt, Thursday saw its TV schedule overshadowed by one very popular reality competition, with last night’s I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! (ITV, 9pm) leaving very little room for the competition to flourish.
In fairness though, the eleventh episode of the fifteenth series was pretty indistinguishable from the rest, with yesterday’s jungle drama seeing Lady Colin Campbell once again assassinate her campmate’s characters with cutting precision before disappointing Ant and Dec by refusing to do yet another trial.
An audience of 7.2 million viewers tuned in to see the repetitive drama unfold witheven the two minute presenters’ bout of heavy flirting failing to charm Lady C into a bushtucker trial, resulting in a 35% share.
Over on BBC One, Dr Rangan Chatterjee was back to invade a random family’s home in order to entertain and educate the prime time audience. The first episode of Doctor in the House (9pm) debuted last week to 2.7 million viewers as the lightweight piece of daytime TV format monitored the family’s health issues.
Last night saw the all-round health educator and stool-inspector attempt to figure out why the head of the house, a weightlifter, was suffering from back problems, resulting in 2.6 million viewers and a 12% share.
Over on BBC Two was the bloody manfest The Last Kingdom (9pm) with the sixth episode seeing young Uhtred attempt to figure out which side he bats for – the Saxons or the Vikings. Yesterday’s historical 60 minutes of muddy faces and broody beardy types secured 1.5 million viewers and a 7% share.
Meanwhile, Channel 4 was attempting to push those buttons again with one off documentary The World’s Most Expensive Food at 9pm.
Scientifically designed to get our outrage to bubble to the surface, the programme featured beer-fed beef, a tea and cake experience that costs £1,000 per head and generally scenes of filthy rich people who are clueless about how much things are actually worth.
1.1 million viewers joined in for the frustrating experience, resulting in a 5% share.
Alarmingly, it was Channel 5 that provided some prospective and balance with the latest Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild (9pm), which once again documented a family that rejected the consumeristic emptiness of modern life.
An audience of 931,000 viewers tuned in for the relatively unextreme episode (large family moved to a farm), resulting in a 4% share.
Watchdog went out earlier than usual on BBC One at 7:30pm, netting 3.6 million viewers and a 18% share while MasterChef: The Professionals (BBC Two, 8pm) secured 2.3 million viewers and an 11% share.
On Channel 4, The Secret Life of 5 Year Olds (8pm) was watched by 1.3 million viewers and a 6% share while Alex Polizzi’s Italian Islands (Channel 5, 8pm) bagged 749,000 viewers and a 3% share.
Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs netted a healthy 3.9 million viewers for ITV at 8:30pm, resulting in a 17% share.
Earlier at 7pm an hour long Emmerdale (ITV) brought in 6.1 million viewers (a 32% share) while a standard sized pack of Coronation Street (8pm) was watched by 6.2 million viewers and a 29% share.
For once BBC One’s EastEnders managed to stay out of Emmerdale‘s way but still somehow cursed to suffer. Just 4.8 million viewers tuned in at 8:30pm to see what miserable events were affecting the residents, resulting in a 21% 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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