Finale of BBC Two’s Allotment Challenge falls to 1.4m
Emmerdale kicked off last night’s prime time festivities in typical soap fashion, featuring, not one, but two disastrous sham weddings to entertain feverish fans of far-flung drama.
Soap weddings should be approached with caution at the best of times but having two, on the exact same day, at the exact same time, is asking for trouble of plane-falling-out-of-the-sky proportions.
Thankfully, last night’s helping of rural delight didn’t involve mass murder of any kind – although the double episode did feature the expected moment of devious glances, shocking confessions and mascara-smeared hysterics.
5.8 million viewers (a 35% share) tuned in to see Cain Dingle anxiously await the arrival of his bride-to-be Moira, somehow oblivious that she was hiding some big dark secret (despite the fact it couldn’t have been more obvious if the words ‘paternal bombshell’ were physically etched into her face).
Meanwhile, in another shed somewhere, Charity was getting jittery about her commitment charisma-free Home Farm overlord, Declan. The second helping of Emmerdale‘s sheep dung-fragranced ceremony netted 5.6 million viewers and a 29% share.
In between the cursed nuptials, there was plenty more opportunity for tears and shouting over on BBC One. Thursday’s visit to EastEnders (7:30pm) saw the shiny new Carter family implode in a typically public manner (the Queen Vic clearly attracts a certain type of landlord).
The volatile reappearance of her prodigal spun Shirley Carter into another heated encounter with her father Stan, while resident ‘ard man Mick Carter kindly took care of his sister’s parental issue. With his fists.
Thursday’s shoutier-than-usual visit to Albert Square was a welcome break from the Beales’ ongoing existentional crisis, with the entire nation having had their fill of Ian Beale’s emotionally shattered crying face.
6.3 million viewers watched Dean Wicks’ personal attack on his mother, right in the middle of a packed pub, naturally, resulting in a 35% share and the day’s biggest audience.
As expected, things were a little more relaxed over on BBC Two at 8pm as the nose-bleed roller-coaster of mayhem that was The Big Allotment Challenge finally came to an end.
After six long weeks the best carrot-grower and flower-arranger was finally crowned by Fern Britton, whose manic and constantly-present grin became a little terrifying by the second episode.
After opening with 2.5 million viewers, the latest reality contest to take The Great British Bake Off format a step too far, saw the audience trickle away over the following thrilling weeks.
Last night’s grand finale saw the brave competitors take part in a melon and sweetcorn presentation, followed by an intense spot of floral design. The final helping of grass-growing fun took in 1.4 million viewers and a 7% share.
At the same time on Channel 4, 1.4 million viewers tuned in to see the suspect characters of Posh Pawn (8pm) while Gaby Roslin joined the prestigious line-up of Matt Allwright and Chris Hollins for a third series of schedule filling nonsense on The Food Inspectors (8pm).
An audience of 2.9 million people tuned in for the tabloid culinary shocks, providing a 15% share, which led fittingly into the penultimate episode of MasterChef on BBC One at 9pm. The biggest audience in the timeslot – 5.2 million viewers and a 25% share – tuned in to see the surviving contestants whisked off the Catalonia region for more hard work.
The build up to the grand finale generated 19,830 tweets, making it the second most tweeted about show of the day.
There was more food wastage over on Channel 4 as Heston blooming Blumenthal dicked about with more food, stretching the fun out for an entire hour. An audience of 947,000 million viewers watched as Heston created a giant bar of chocolate, just because he could, resulting in a 5% share.
Both ITV and BBC Two dealt with greater social issues in the 9pm window, with the final episode of manipulative and mawkish adoption show Wanted: A Family of My Own netting 2 million viewers and a 10% share for ITV.
Over on BBC Two, Thalidomide – The Fifty Year Fight detailed a family’s harrowing struggle for justice, resulting in an audience of 795,000 and a 4% share.
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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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