Perhaps due to the weather, Thursday’s soaps were dealt a harsh blow by the God of popularity. The first episode of Emmerdale brought in a surprisingly small audience of 5.4 million viewers and – unusually for a double bill – the second visit to the Dales upped the ante with 5.5 million viewers and a 29% share.

Last night’s midweek television saw the final five hopefuls of The Apprentice (BBC One, 9pm) face the ultimate challenge so far as they were tasked with not having some kind of mental breakdown on camera.

Last night’s top shelf TV brought a change of heart for brooding man-mountain Luther (BBC One, 9pm) as the haunted cop attempted to get his love on in the second episode of the third series.

After Wimbledon helped the weekend’s TV audiences reach the dreamy heights of yesteryear, Monday saw summer audiences crash back down to reality.

ITV’s usually reliable teatime soap Emmerdale was on the receiving end of a grand slam (correct sporting terminology, right?) as the tail end of Wimbledon 2013 (BBC One, 1:45pm) managed to grab the public’s interest.

It may be the height of the dreaded summer scheduling drought but that didn’t stop the BBC from treating viewers to the return of at least one highly anticipated programme last night.

The UK’s soaps ruled the airwaves on Monday as a fresh batch of over the top drama grabbed last night’s top four spots.

With most of the country enjoying unseasonal good weather on Saturday, the BBC attempted to lure in audiences with bite sized helpings of Glastonbury and Wimbledon 2013 but they just weren’t biting.

A brand new series from ITV managed to capture the biggest audience in last night’s 9pm slot, proving that an hour of famous people crying always translates to TV gold.

The first full week of summer kicked off with a nostalgic nod to our Cilla as ITV saw fit to meddle in people’s personal lives and churn it into quality prime time entertainment.