ITV’s Downton Abbey bids toodle pip on a series high
Fans of fancy prime time soap opera Downton Abbey were in for a difficult Sunday evening as the aristocratic Crawley family finally waved goodbye after six series of rose-tinted nostalgia, forbidden romance, a rigidly dependable class system and plenty of good old fashioned tragedy.
The fact that the show will return for a feature-length Christmas special to properly wrap things up is beside the point – yesterday signalled the last ever chance the nation had to spend its Sunday night in classy company of the Crawleys.
Last night saw the family attempt to marry off frosty widow brat Lady Mary one last time, adding a sense of occasion to the grand finale and – unsurprisingly – attracting the current run’s biggest audience.
Sibling rivalry once again came to the forefront as a particularly bitchy Mary dropped Edith right in it by telling a suitor about a certain secret love child, leading to a satisfying and cathartic torrent of abuse from the younger sister, helping the show generate the highest amount of tweets so far.
The international super hit retuned to ITV at the tail-end of September and secured 7.4 million viewers, with the following episodes averaging the same, despite the lack of surprises (not including that chest buster scene).
Last night’s wedding and general wrapping up of story threads secured the day’s second biggest audience, with 8.4 million viewers and a 37% share tuning in to see if Lady Mary would do us a favour and crack a smile.
[advert position=”left”]The only other 9pm showing to even come close to Downton’s success was BBC One’s lavish wildlife documentary 100% dedicated to The Hunt.
4.5 million tuned in for some bloody and fast-paced thrills as viewers took a look at survival throughout the seasons with the second instalment securing a 19% share.
Over on Channel 4, the fifth series of paranoid, prolonged panic attack Homeland (9pm) brought in 981,000 viewers and a 4% share.
Meanwhile BBC Two offered up a slice of perfected sci-fi with Rian Johnson’s 2012 Looper (9pm) starring Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a creepy younger version of Bruce Willis, bringing 911,000 viewers and a 4% share along for the ride.
Earlier in the day, BBC One’s double whammy of all things British once again performed a tag team take down with Countryfile (6:15pm) netting 7.1 million viewers and a 34% share while Antiques Roadshow (8pm) bagged 6.6 million viewers and a 27% share.
Despite all the hoo haw surrounding Downton‘s departure from the schedules, it was BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing that dominated proceedings.
Saturday’s epic show was watched by a whopping 9.2 million viewers while Sunday’s shorter 45 minute edition netted 10.3 million viewers and a 43% share.
Over on ITV, The X Factor still muddled along with Saturday’s dramatic and emotional singing netting 6.2 million viewers, jumping up to 7 million and a 29% share for last night’s significantly shorter results show at 8pm.
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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