Death In Paradise continues to breeze to the top
For the second night in a row a cheesy murder drama ruled over the prime time airwaves, with the latest instalment of BBC One’s Death In Paradise (9pm) seducing viewers with its beautiful scenery and super-easy-to-follow plot.
A total of 6 million viewers tuned in to find him off those shudder-inducing BT ads and My Family already at a funeral when the show kicked off, only for DI Dwayne to receive a text from the deceased announcing they were murdered.
So far, so typically silly. The case of The Texting Corpse Wot Didn’t Die From Natural Causes netted a 28% share for BBC One, proving to be the 9pm slot’s biggest audience.
Struggling under Kris Marshall’s mammoth shadow was ITV’s interesting genre offering, Jericho (9pm), as the Western from up north ran into some financial difficulties.
Each week since its début ITV’s ambitious drama has continuously lost viewers, opening with 3 million viewers and falling to 2.5 million for last week’s excursion. Yesterday’s visit to the Yorkshire shanty town continued this downward trend for the fourth consecutive week.
An audience of 2.3 million viewers watched as project leader Charles had to turn to some fairly judgemental religious types to keep his viaduct construction on track, with an 11% share tuning in to see if the beloved brothel with all its cheerful olden day wenches would really be banished from the official Jericho town plan.
Over on Channel 4, Geordie Architect TM George Clarke met a couple converting two church ruins, with the latest The Restoration Man bagging 1.4 million viewers and a 6% share for the heretical project, while Channel 5’s latest Celebrity Big Brother provided more sadness for the soul, securing 2.3 million viewers and an 11% share.
Refreshingly, BBC Two provided an opportunity for viewers to learn some history stuff with The Story of China (9pm). The second out of eight episodes saw presenter Michael Wood detail the superpower’s first ventures overseas, resulting in 1.3 million viewers and a 6% share.
[advert position=”left”]Earlier at 8pm, the latest action from standing in the woods in the darkness show, Winterwatch 2016 (BBC Two) bagged 2.7 million viewers and a 13% share, while banter-bots Kirsty and Phil were back for another Location, Location, Location, with 1.9 million viewers and a 9% share.
Elsewhere, there was another attempt by Channel 5 to provide some highbrow content (relatively speaking) with Britain’s Bloody Crown (8pm). Like standard BBC Two history docs but with lots more disembowelments and cleavage, the fourth and final look at the Wars of the Roses netted 618,000 viewers and a 3% share.
At 8pm on BBC One, the latest slice of bizarre soap Dickensian bagged 2.5 million viewers and a 13% share while Birds of a Feather‘s (8:30pm) dependable low-brow comedy stylings were watched by 3.1 million and a 15% share.
Someone must have fed the soaps some food after midnight because they were all over Thursday’s teatime schedule like demented gremlins.
Not only did viewers get a chance to relish in the dark rural depression of a double Emmerdale, but there was also a chance to revel in some inner city destitute in a double EastEnders.
Emmerdale (ITV) kicked things off at 7pm, with the first episode bringing in 5.8 million viewers and a 33%, followed by 5.6 million viewers and a 29% share at 8pm.
But it was BBC One’s triumphant trip to Albert Square that secured the day’s top spot, with a seriously pickled Phil Mitchell doing a Lord Grantham in the Queen Vic by projectile vomiting blood on everyone.
The first EastEnders at 7:30pm saw the Beales finally manage to fob off sister-slaying Bobby to some random boarding school, netting 6 million viewers and a 32% share.
The second episode wasn’t quite as popular, with scenes of Phil spectacularly ruining Billy and Honey’s engagement resulting in sixth place, with 5.3 million viewers and a 26% 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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