Sobering Call the Midwife continues to rule over the weekend
BBC One’s final series of The Voice UK topped Saturday’s TV viewing, beating the flurry of noisy and excitable light entertainment offerings available throughout the day.
Kicking off at 7:45pm, the third episode of the fifth series saw blind auditions continue, with little Ricky, Paloma, Boy and Will.i.am providing plenty of ‘personality’ and ‘zest’ in an attempt to distract viewers from the fairly unexciting process.
An average audience of 6.6 million viewers sat on the edge of their seats for one hour and 20 minutes as the four ‘compelling’ coaches theatrically teased fingering their big red buttons for dramatic effect.
The spinning-chair action helped the show secure a 31% share and led Saturday’s TV schedule, which isn’t bad for a show that’s slowly shedding viewers and in the middle of an identity crisis after ITV’s poach.
Earlier on the day, bizarrely popular quiz show, Pointless Celebrities (BBC One, 6pm) secured the third biggest hit of the day with a little under 5 million viewers and a 27% share.
Afterwards, undemanding and lighter-than-helium nonsense, The Getaway Car (6:50pm) bagged 3.7 million viewers and a 19% share on BBC One.
Speaking of which, ITV’s frugal reboot of Gladiators (minus the steroid-happy actors, glitzy costumes and sets) Ninja Warrior UK (7pm) continued to provide note-perfect and undemanding Saturday family fun.
4.1 million people tuned in to see enthusiastic, fit and happy people fall violently on their faces, resulting in a 30% share.
Straight up afterwards, ITV had another chance to shine with the depressing modern take of the dating show, Take Me Out (8pm).
3.1 million viewers tuned in to see Paddy McGuiness attempt to control a horde of spunky, TV-ready, soundbite-regurgitating ladettes, resulting in a 14% share.
At 9:05pm, Casualty (BBC One) brought viewers more drama, blood and patients who share way too much about their personal lives, netting the day’s number two spot with 5.1 million viewers and a 24% share.
It was all change on Sunday, with the more sombre and less volatile offerings exceeding Saturday’s figures.
BBC One managed to net the day’s top six shows, kicking off with calming national institution, Countryfile at 5:30pm.
5.5 million viewers watched as Ellie Harrison and Matt Baker patronised the residents of an off-season tourist town in Devon, resulting in a 28% share.
Straight up afterwards David Attenborough got some help from some young strapping lads to piece together the bones of a massive dinosaur uncovered in Argentina.
Attenborough and the Giant Dinosaur (BBC One, 6:30pm) pulled in an impressive 7.5 million viewers, with the unveiling of the 37-metre long monstrosity helping secure a 35% share.
Harking back to an even more prehistoric time was old school throwback Still Open All Hours (BBC One, 7:30pm), which saw David Jason’s (very) long-suffering Granville trying to sell damaged tins of chilli beans (seriously).
The cutting edge comedy was watched by a whopping 7.4 million viewers and a 33% share, leading to suspicions that BBC One’s impressive Sunday was actually due to malfunctioning remote controls.[advert position=”left”]
At 8pm on BBC Two, Dragons’ Den was back for another round of entrepreneurial shaming and netted 2.2 million viewers and a 9% share.
On ITV, the final episode of Morse/Lewis prequel show Endeavour‘s (8pm) third series once again saw the young detective question his place in the police.
The two-hour case saw those murderous academics of Oxford given a break for once, with 3.6 million viewers and a 15% share tuning in for some fashion world/gang land murders.
At 8pm on BBC One was mammoth drama Call the Midwife, with the latest episode of the birthing drama once again taking the weekend’s top spot.
Pressing more of those emotion buttons than usual, the episode saw Sister Evangelina preach her ‘breast is best’ mantra, inevitably leading to some tragedy and a swift exit for actress Pam Ferris.
7.8 million viewers tuned in for the latest instalment of the Sunday favourite, resulting in a 32% share.
Afterwards, the fourth episode of War and Peace (9pm) kept the colossal plot thundering along as Natasha got a little tempted due to her fiancé’s long absence.
5.2 million viewers tuned in to see more extravagant dresses, unreasonable power-hungry men and longing looks, resulting in a 22% share for BBC One.
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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