Finale of BBC One’s New Tricks fends off ITV’s Grantchester
Monday night brought the final episode of a closely scrutinised series of New Tricks (9pm) as the UCOS team really went for the middle-aged nostalgic market by pumping a vivacious 80s soundtrack throughout all the faux-tortured brooding that’s seemingly essential for cracking a case.
The grand finale of the eleventh series saw the team of elderly men and their noticeably more aesthetically-pleasing female boss investigate a school disco murder in 1983, with some links to nuclear secrets and the monarchy thrown in for good measure.
BBC One’s once widely successful maturely-aged crime drama has been pulling in more moderate figures in recent times, with the show struggling slightly over a recent cast handover.
Series nine ended with 7.4 million viewers in October 2012, while last year’s finale (which had the difficult task of finishing up with practically a brand new cast) secured 6.4 million viewers despite the absence of Amanda Redman, Alun Armstrong and James Bolam.
While the long-running show about retired detectives solving cold cases hasn’t been performing as well as it once has, this series’ average audience of just under 5 million viewers has been enough to see it secure the 9pm slot most weeks.
Last night’s sentimental trip to the past was watched by 4.5 million viewers and a 20% share, resulting in the biggest audience in its time slot.
At the same time, ITV was having its own go at murdery nostalgic charm with the third episode of Grantchester (9pm). While the opening episode overshadowed New Tricks a few weeks back with 5.2 million viewers, the commercial broadcaster’s latest slice of picturesque regional crime-solving has fallen steadily ever since.
Last night saw the latest team-up between the troubled-yet-handsome vicar and the craggy-but-decent copper, with the murder of a little old lady netting 4 million viewers and an 18% share.
The detectives over on Channel 4 didn’t have the beautiful period surroundings of Cambridgeshire but at least they did have some meaty real-life cases to deal with on 24 Hours in Police Custody (9pm).
The show, which apparently proves that everyone wants to be on TV, including heroin addicts and drug dealers, looked at two separate cases of narcotic stupidity. An audience of 1.6 million viewers spent an hour inside the custody suite, netting Channel 4’s biggest audience of the day with a 7% share.
Meanwhile, the detectives on Channel 5 couldn’t help but feel there was something really vital missing from their city of Gotham (9pm) as they attempted to get information out of a young Selina Kyle regarding the murder of Bruce Wayne’s parents.
An audience of 1.3 million viewers tuned in to see the exciting origins of Catwoman, securing Channel 5’s biggest hit of the day with a 6% share.
BBC Two provided a nice break from the grim manly musings and dead women with the third and final episode of The Kitchen (9pm). Featuring ‘real’ families and ‘real’ conversations, the show attempts to do for dinner what Gogglebox does for TV, with the highly financially sound venture netting 880,000 viewers and a 4% share.
There was even more justice being dispensed in the teatime soap slot as Coronation Street (ITV) delivered Peter Barlow’s verdict in the opening moment of the first episode. As usual the double helping took the night’s top two spots with over 8 million viewers (a 34% share) tuning in at 7:30pm, falling slightly to 7.9 million (a 37% share) at 8:30pm.
Earlier, Emmerdale (ITV) took in 6.9 million viewers and a 34% share at 7pm while EastEnders secured 7.1 million viewers thanks to the arrival of new character Kush, with his run-in with terminally annoying Shabnam attracting a 31% 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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