Bake Off’s vol-au-vent meltdown brings 9.5m to BBC One
As if it was any surprise, last night saw The Great British Bake Off (BBC One, 9pm) outshine all the competition by attracting a typically bloated audience to the latest flour-dusted trials in the white tent of anxiety and broken dreams.
As the show entered the second half of its sixth series, Mary and Paul fell back on an old favourite and tasked the seven remaining bakers with whipping up a variety of pastry-based delicacies.
As the weeks have lumbered on, many early favourites have crumbled under the intense pressure, seeing Ugne most recently falling victim to the unholy presence of non-dairy ice cream in last week’s ‘alternative ingredients’ atrocity.
Yesterday’s visit to the usually picturesque Welford Park in Berkshire saw the weather reflect the tense atmosphere, with torrential rain threatening to distract everyone, including the judges, from their pastry penance.
In the end, a typically impressive audience of 9.5 million viewers tuned in to see the group lose their nerves slightly when faced with creating a Frangipane tart, but not before being asked to make something called a Cypriot Flaounes with little instruction and many rank-smelling ingredients.
Not only did the latest slice of wholesome reality TV net the 8pm slot, but it was once again Wednesday’s biggest show, with entertaining scenes of practically everyone screwing up their vol-au-vent show-stoppers helping secure a whopping 43% share.
Straight up afterwards was some new quality drama from BBC One as Suranne Jones was back once again playing another tough woman with more than her share of fatal flaws in Doctor Foster (9pm).
The psychological relationship drama, the first of six episodes, kicked off to find content and strong Dr Gemma Foster beginning to doubt her husband’s fidelity, instigating a hard-to-watch domino effect that sabotages her happy family life.
Viewers were left to wonder if paranoia had taken its deathly grip or whether Doctor Foster was a woman wronged on a quest for the truth. Either way the début episode of the tension-filled drama netted the 9pm slot with 6.1 million viewers and a 29% share.
Things were a little more heady over on BBC Two at 8pm, with 750,000 viewers tuning in to Horizon: Cosmic Dawn: The Real Moment of Creation. The simple and lightweight fun attracted a 3% share.
[advert position=”left”]At 9pm The Ascent of Women (BBC Two) continued as Dr Amanda Foreman looked at the women who changed the course of history. 458,000 viewers tuned in to be shocked and reminded just how much society has evolved is such a relatively short time, resulting in a 2% share.
Yesterday saw ITV’s Blow-Your-Own-Trumpet season continue with another raiding of the archives in 8pm’s ITV Changed My Life.
Once again treating the nation to another interview of that Blind Date couple who simply won’t go away (wow, they got married!!), an audience of 2.1 million viewers and a 10% share excitedly tuned in to see what random contestants from The Krypton Factor are up to now.
At 9pm, the latest in a long line of police documentaries continued, with the second episode of The Nick bagging ITV 1.8 million viewers and a 9% share.
On Channel 4, the fourth series of Posh Pawn (8pm) continued to promote the high-end cash for gold antics of Prestige Pawnbrokers, with only owner James Constantinou coming out on top. 1 million viewers and a 5% share tuned in for the latest flight of consumer fancy.
At 9pm, Kevin McCloud and his Grand Designs (Channel 4) were back for a 15th series, with the opening episode featuring the largest ever build; yes, even bigger than the 100th episode featuring the central London water tower. 2.3 million people watched in jealousy as the dream became a reality, resulting in an 11% share.
On Channel 5, the beautifully titled The Nightmare Neighbour Next Door: When Neighbours Attack (8pm) brought some more dubious characters to our screens and was watched by 976,000 and a 5% share. Afterwards at 9pm, Celebrity Big Brother improved on that with the latest breakdowns bringing in 1.3 million loyal souls and a 6% share.
Earlier in the frothy world of soap, Emmerdale (ITV, 7pm) brought in 5.6 million viewers and a 33% share to ITV, while Coronation Street (7:30pm) scored the day’s number two spot with 6.7 million viewers and a 35% 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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