EastEnders’ wedding from hell secures Tuesday for BBC One
Those scriptwriters at EastEnders (BBC One, 7:30pm) sure know what they’re doing. Only one week after they attempted to make the nation’s Tuesday a tad gloomier than it usually is (with a decidedly miserable funeral), this week there was a clear attempt to brighten up proceedings with a glorious celebration.
Love is usually a many splendored thing and the holy union of Alfie and Roxy could have been the beginning of an uplifting storyline for long suffering viewers to enjoy after another long day. Sadly, this being EastEnders, there was only so much happiness to go around before the proverbial jellied eel hit the fan.
The past few weeks have seen the 28 year old soap grow in popularity and strength as Square bicycle Kat Slater had her womanly feelings stirred up at the thoughts of her ex committing himself to a new woman. The continuing cycle of characters making unfeasibly bad decisions is essential to fuelling the soap’s plotlines and last night saw Alfie leave his new wife of two minutes to reunite with soulmate Kat.
While the general public may have tired of the on/off relationship many moons ago, Tuesday night saw the audience swell up to a little over 8 million viewers as they watched the Queen Vic landlord make a madcap dash for glamorous Southend Airport to stop Kat from leaving.
The romantic gesture (of sorts) locked in Tuesday’s biggest audience, with a 36% share tuning in for the heavily clichéd and – momentarily, no doubt – happy ending.
Half an hour earlier on ITV, Emmerdale (7pm) – the little soap that somehow managed to consistently beat EastEnders all summer – was reeling from its newly confirmed third favourite soap status.
Last night was business as usual on the Dales as Rhona continued lying to Paddy about her medication issues (or lack thereof) while there was the usual aggravation and abuse going on at Home Farm. 6.6 million viewers – a good 1.5 million lower than BBC One’s soap – tuned in for the wholesome rural fun, proving to be the day’s second biggest hit with a 31% share.
Later at 9pm, Last Tango in Halifax‘s triumphant return continued as Derek Jacobi and Anne Reid’s saucy septuagenarians finally tied the knot. The second episode of the second series saw the mature romantics elope to avoid the strain and hassle of putting up with their middle aged children. As the characters and makers of this show know only too well: time is of the essence.
The latest antics from Alan, Celia and their overprotective families had enough impact to easily fight off the football on the other side, with 6.3 million viewers (a 28% share) tuning in.
Over on Channel 4 there was more West End drama on and off stage as egos were bruised, times got desperate and the pressure was mounted in the third episode of The Sound of Musicals (9pm). An audience of 936,000 viewers tuned in to see a revealing look at the desperate funding of a new production, resulting in a 4% share.
ITV’s big hopeful of the day was the latest Live UEFA Champions League (7:30pm) game from the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal took on Marseille in the Group F fixture. An average audience of 3.3 million viewers stayed tuned for the entire coverage, soaking up free-to-air Champions League action before BT Sport swoops along and snatches it away. Audience interest peaked at 4.2 million viewers around the 8pm kick off as Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere scored his first of the game’s two solo goals.
Despite the game, both BBC Channels performed well in the 8pm slot with MasterChef: The Professionals securing 3.2 million viewers for BBC Two and the latest drama from Holby City comfortably bringing in another 4.8 million viewers (a 21% share).
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