ITV’s new cold case drama Unforgotten débuts to 4.5m
Three days after BBC One’s long-running cold case drama New Tricks finally came to an end, last night saw ITV début its own take on the haunted-copper-solving-old-crimes format with Unforgotten (9pm).
The opening episode introduced viewers to Nicola Walker’s (Spooks) DCI Cassie Stuart and Sanjeev Bhaskar’s (Goodness Gracious Me) DS Sunny Khan who were tasked with investigating the discovery of a corpse uncovered under a building site.
While it may sound like yet another police procedural, writer Chris Lang (ITV’s A Mother’s Son, Undeniable and Torn) injects the story with plenty of pathos and feeling, with some already claiming the London-based drama to be a suitable companion to Broadchurch.
[advert position=”left”]An audience of 4.5 million viewers tuned in to meet the four suspects, all desperately attempting to escape the past, resulting in a 23% share and the biggest 9pm audience.
Over on BBC One, it was time for the multi talented and all-round professional creepy human Mark Gatiss to explore his mysterious genealogy in the penultimate episode of Who Do You Think You Are? (9pm).
Travelling all the way to the exotic locale of Northern Ireland, the overachieving actor, screenwriter, producer, novelist, comedian and director was delighted to uncover some ghoulish stories involving his ancestors. There was even some mention of vampires, which is as much of a result as you can get on this show.
3.1 million viewers watched the latest hunt for sad stories, resulting in a 16% share.
At the same time on Channel 4, silly running show Hunted (9pm) raced towards the end of its course with a penultimate hour of non-spontaneous running.
The fifth episode saw fugitive mother Emily put ‘everything’ at risk in order to see her baby, while newcomer Freddie from Essex decided to bring his mother-in-law along for the ride because it’s just that silly.
The reality manhunt show opened up in early September to 1.7 million viewers and managed to top the TV Twitter Chart. Last night saw 1.1 million viewers tune in to watch real grown men pretend they were in control of a real-life CTU and not posturing on a TV set, resulting in a 6% share.
Things were a bit more relaxed on Channel 5 as Chris Tarrant: Extreme Railways (9pm) returned for another thrilling adventure, with 903,000 viewers tuning in to see the presenter cross the Andes, resulting in a 5% share.
BBC Two’s double dose of sitcom fun saw Cradle to Grave (9pm) net 1.4 million viewers while romantic comedy Boy Meets Girl (9:30pm) came to an end after six episodes. Opening up with 1.5 million viewers, the tale of a man who falls in love with a trans woman saw the audience peter out, with last night’s finale bringing in 844,000 viewers and a 4% share.
At 8pm, the new series of Watchdog (BBC One) saw Anne Robinson get replaced with not one but two new female presenters, while sadly Matt Allwright and Chris Hollins remained untouched. 3.7 million viewers tuned in for the start of a new era, resulting in a 19% share.
On BBC Two, World’s Weirdest Events (8pm) was watched by 1.5 million viewers (an 8% share) while Paul O’ Grady: For the Love of Dogs brought in 3.9 million viewers (a 20% share) at 8:30pm on ITV.
Earlier in soap land, ITV’s Emmerdale did the decent thing and split its offering into two half hour episodes, giving BBC One’s soap some room to breathe. The trip to the Yorkshire Dales at 7pm secured 5.4 million viewers and a 30% share while the second visit at 8pm was watched by 5.6 million viewers and a 28% share.
But it was BBC One’s EastEnders – which has been recently trashed by Emmerdale schedule clashes – at 7:30pm that took Thursday’s top spot. An audience of 6 million viewers tuned in to see a dazed and confused Ian Beale finally have a face to face with his resurrected mother Kathy, resulting in 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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