EastEnders’ night of horror leads Halloween viewing
Thursday’s TV schedule was a series of missed opportunities as the broadcasters decided not to give viewers a seasonal scare (in the traditional sense anyway), instead they played it safe with a standard midweek line up.
Out of all the drama on offer only EastEnders (BBC One) got properly into the spirit with a spot of old-fashioned pre-meditated murder. Last night’s intense trip to Walford – a London borough which is apparently haunted by misery all year round – saw the culmination of Michael Moon’s plot to do-away with his wife, Janine, by manipulating a local simpleton.
All the dark action played against the backdrop of the Queen Vic’s overenthusiastic makeover from Alfie Moon, with the fictional boozer resembling a 19th century opium den whether intentional or not.
6.4 million viewers tuned in as Michael and Alice’s pill-themed fatal plot hit a bit of a dramatic snag, sending the E20 sociopath into panic mode. The intense final scenes helped BBC One’s flagship show net a 32% share and the biggest audience of the entire day.
Wrapped around EastEnders‘ timeslot was a double helping of small town criminal hijinks in Emmerdale over on ITV. The rural drama has been the darling of fickle soap fans in recent months, constantly beating its BBC rival for the coveted number two position (behind reigning champ Coronation Street).
Halloween saw the countryside production stumble over its own success, with the double bill just falling short of beating the cockney threat. Unusually, an audience of 6.3 million viewers tuned in for both episodes, with 7pm and 8pm showings attracting a share of 33% and 31% respectively.
There weren’t many frightful surprises later at 9pm with small scale haulage company drama Truckers filling BBC One’s slot. The fourth episode focused on tough gal Wendy. 2 million viewers watched as the headstrong driver battled a few bothersome demons – sadly they were only the metaphorical kind. An audience share of 10% watched as recovering alcoholic Wendy got her booze on, sending her life into a sorry spiral.
At the same time BBC Two was offering up some true spine tingling horror in the form of the World’s Busiest Maternity Ward (9pm). The unbridled terror of watching 100 little bundles of joy claw their way into the world every day attracted 1.8 million frightened viewers.
Continuing the Alien theme on ITV was the fourth episode of flashy period medical drama Breathless (9pm) which saw Jack Davenport’s Otto dealing with an extremely risky birth. The most popular show about gynaecology airing this year, the 60s-set drama attracted 2.1 million viewers and an 11% share.
Although they both probably thought they were airing appropriate programming, both Channel 4 and 5 offered up shows that could be described as slightly distasteful, considering the night that was.
At 9pm, Channel 4 thought it was a good idea to show viewers a south London psychiatric hospital, intrude in vulnerable people’s lives and call the show Bedlam. 1.5 million viewers tuned in for the first part of the challenging documentary, translating into 7% share.
Firmly planted in the corner of wrong was Channel 5’s seasonal offering Stalked to Death: Countdown to Murder which highlighted the grim events of a real life tragedy in meticulous detail. 1 million viewers (a 5% share) tuned in to find out how an abusive man murdered his girlfriend in a hospital car park by showing the shocking moment over and over again.
At 10pm Channel 4 finally completed their own personal challenge to make a show about every aspect of British life by way of wall mounted cameras with the last episode of Up All Night. In the past two weeks viewers have been treated to the scenes unfolding in a nightclub toilet and a minicab office, with last night’s grand finale opening up the scope slightly.
Finally, for some strange reason 835,000 thousand viewers tuned in to see vets, mechanics and plumbers go about their nocturnal business in Britain on Call, securing a 5% 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.