Bake Off’s totes emosh finale sees audience grow to 13.3m on BBC One
After 10 long weeks of numerous baking disasters, another now-traditional hipster sacrifice, many suspect shots of squirrels and the very minimum levels of personal drama, last night saw viewers return one last time to the great white tent of dreams as The Great British Bake Off (BBC One, 9pm) came to an emotional conclusion.
The second series to air on the broadcaster’s flagship channel saw the sixth run of competitive (but super friendly) baking show rise in popularity even further, proving that the right ingredients can still bring in the big numbers, especially under perfect conditions.
The very first final arrived on a Tuesday evening in September 2010 and after just six episodes the end to the début series of BBC Two’s sleeper hit attracted an audience of 2.5 million viewers.
[advert position=”left”]Fast forward three years later to October 2013 and the fourth series finale (the last to air on BBC Two) had seen a massive rise in popularity, with 8.4 million viewers tuning in to see Frances Quinn take the baking crown.
Last year’s fifth series was upgraded to the BBC One schedule with impressive results – a whopping audience of 12.2 million viewers watched as Nancy Birtwhistle claimed the top prize even though everyone is now convinced the builder Richard Burr beat her to it.
8pm last night saw this year’s three surviving bakers, Ian, Nadiya and Tamal, reach breaking point as they anxiously neared the finish line, with their own personal home lives now a hazy blur.
An average audience of 13.3 million viewers watched as Ian shot himself in the foot by forgetting to add sugar to his iced buns and Tamal dropped the ball while attempting to perfect pastry for a mille-feuille, while Nadiya raced past the finish line by creating the wedding cake she never had.
The 60 tension-filled minutes of nerves, idyllic scenery and calming incidental music secured a massive 55% share, something which moved even Marry Berry to tears and helped the show generate over 251,000 tweets.
Not only that but the showdown peaked at 14.3 million viewers in the final 15 minutes, the highest audience of 2015 so far.
But it wasn’t just the mixture of flour and tears that resulted in a successful night for BBC One, as straight up afterwards was the fifth and final episode of anxious poisonous marriage drama Doctor Foster (9pm).
The psychological tale of a suspicious GP, played by Suranne Jones, who is driven a wee bit barmy after uncovering some earth shattering secrets about her husband and community, opened strongly at the start of September with 6.1 million viewers.
Unusually for a drama, not only did the audience not decline week on week but actually increased as word spread about the slice of Wednesday night unease.
Perhaps it’s down to the availability of the iPlayer but last night’s edgy finale involved some more tense kitchen scenes of a very different variety from the Bake Off and secured a whopping 7.8 million viewers.
Yesterday’s impressive figure represents a 29% jump compared to the first episode’s audience, with the bloody finale bagging the 9pm slot for BBC One.
Over on ITV, the latest matrimonial fun of All Star Mr & Mrs was watched by 2.7 million viewers and an 11% share at 8pm, while the third and final part of spooky procedural Midwinter of the Spirit secured 1.3 million viewers and a 6% share.
At 8pm, BBC Two asked Denis Healey: The Best Prime Minister Labour Never Had? with 635,000 viewers and a 3% share tuning in for the answers, while Face of Britain by Simon Schama brought in 706,000 viewers and a 3% share at 9pm.
On Channel 4 at 8pm, 736,000 (a 3% share) caught up with the latest Location Location Location, while Grand Designs documented another ambitious build at 9pm, netting 2.2 million viewers and a 10% share.
On Channel 5 it was business as usual with the depressing double whammy of The Nightmare Neighbour Next Door (8pm) and Can’t Pay? We’ll Take It Away (9pm) which was watched by 581,000 and 1.2 million viewers, respectively.
For once ITV’s soaps didn’t manage the top two spots, with Emmerdale bagging 5.7 million viewers at 7pm, resulting in a 31% share and sixth place overall.
Afterwards at 7:30pm, Sarah Platt was getting all worried about the rotting corpse underneath her house in Coronation Street which secured the day’s third spot. 6.9 million viewers tuned in to see if the smell would start to become an issue, resulting in a 34% 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 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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