Shoot The Messenger Dead On Arrival

The much talked about drama Shoot The Messenger, on BBC2 last night, was not a hit with viewers, despite the column inches that had been spent on it in the lead up to it airing.

The provocative story of one man’s painful journey towards self-discovery attracted an average of just 1.2 million adult viewers (a 6.7% audience share) in its 9pm slot.

On BBC One however the big movie, Meet the Parents starring comedic ace Ben Stiller and Hollywood tough guy Robert De Niro, fared much better, bringing in an average of 4.1 million adults (a 22% audience share) during its 9-10pm duration, before continuing after the news and attracting an average of 3.6 million adults (a 29% audience share).

The most watched show at 9pm was on ITV, as an average 0f 4.4 million adults (a 27% audience share) settled down to watch the horrific tales contained within Tenants From Hell. The show managed a peak of 4.6 million adults (a 25% audience share).

Sleeper Cell the new Channel 4 series about a gang of bloodthirsty terrorists did very badly in its 10pm slot, managing to attract an average audience of just 516,000 adult viewers (a 3.7% audience share).

The most watched show of the evening was Coronation Street, attracting an average of 8.9 million adult viewers (a 49% audience 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, ITV2 and Sky One.

Channel Four: 020 7396 4444 www.channel4.com ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itv.com BBC: 020 8743 8000 www.bbc.co.uk