Casualty’s explosive red wedding weekend proves a hit for BBC One
This past weekend saw BBC One dust off its long-running medical drama Casualty – the very definition of dependable, effort-free programming – and attempted to administer a punch of adrenaline straight to the heart with two very ‘special’ episodes.
Coming so soon after the show’s disastrous stab at something ‘different’ back in July, with the Sin City-inspired horror of Holby noir, BBC One offered up not one but two instalments of disinfectant-tainted drama to bring series 29 to an end in a very theatrical fashion.
Despite the danger of alienating loyal and persistent viewers even further, this weekend’s double helping went all Game of Thrones Hollyoaks by possibly killing off a load of beloved characters via the well-worn tactic of a giant explosion at a wedding.
On Saturday night 4.3 million viewers tuned in to see senior consultant Zoe Hanna foolishly display a wee bit of happiness as she prepared for her big wedding day. The build-up episode, which kicked off at 9:15pm, secured a 25% share and was only beaten by BBC News at 10pm which was watched by 4.6 million viewers.
There was no such competition on Sunday as Casualty (BBC One, 8pm) rose above its rivals to secure Sunday evening glory, weirding out casual viewers who were thrown by the unusual schedule move. 5.2 million viewers tuned in to see the glamorously-dressed cast all go explody, putting hospital corridor stalwart Charlie in mortal danger.
The grand finale brought in a 25% audience share but viewers needn’t worry about waiting too long for the cliff-hanger to be resolved – for the past few years the Casualty production machine has been firing on full cylinders and airing nearly every week of the year and not even taking a week off between series.
BBC One did very well throughout the whole day, bagging eight of Sunday’s top 10 shows. 4.7 million viewers tuned in at 6pm to see Matt Baker and Anita Rani get in on the whole craft beer buzz by downing quantities of honey beer, with the latest Countryfile securing a 29% share.
[advert position=”left”]Straight up afterwards Matt Baker magically transported himself to California for Big Blue Live (BBC One, 7pm), which was very much like Autumnwatch but involved much more sunshine and blue seas.
Joined by familiar presenters Liz Bonnin, Steve Backshall and – for some reason – Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, the show delivered many shots of the rich sea life and caught the attention of 5 million viewers and a 27% share.
At the same time BBC Two offered up more of the same in the latest thrilling series of Dragons’ Den (8pm), with 2.9 million viewers and a 14% share tuning in for the suspiciously formulaic bartering.
ITV took another evening off by broadcasting a repeat of Midsomer Murders (8pm), originally from February of this year. 2.2 million viewers tuned in to see the not as inventive as usual mass-death-by-wine-tasting story play out, resulting in an 11% share.
Back over on BBC One, the camp silliness of Partners in Crime (9pm) continued to nosedive in popularity as David Walliams and Jessica Raine, officially TV land’s most sexless couple, tried to find themselves a spy.
Opening up with 6.5 million viewers five long episodes ago, the period silliness has seen a steady but small erosion of its Sunday night dominance, with yesterday bringing in 3.7 million viewers and a 19% share.
Meanwhile, Channel 4 offered viewers the chance to wrap up their weekends in the company of needy and big budget stage school horror show, Les Misérables (9pm). Proving she can sing, wear minimal make-up and cry at the same time, the unstoppable talent of Anne Hathaway helped secure 1.3 million viewers and a 9% share and topped the day’s TV Twitter chart.
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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