ITV’s Superhospital fails to beat celebs cooking some food
Just in case there weren’t enough intrusive real-life tragedies piped through the TV to entertain the masses, last week saw ITV début Superhospital to 2.8 million viewers – adding its own spin on the fly-on-the-triage-wall genre.
Programmes like this excel at lulling viewers into a false sense of emotional security before reefing the rug from under their feet and last night’s trip to Royal Derby Hospital was no exception.
A slightly lower audience of 2.3 million viewers tuned in to see the staff’s jovial nature vanish in a moment of heartbreak, netting a 12% share.
Speaking of intrusiveness, at the same time Channel 4 aired the fourth and final episode of the fly-on the-mud-hut-wall documentary series The Tribe (9pm). After opening up with 1.4 million viewers, the following weeks saw the audience fall somewhat, with 1.1 million viewers and a 9% share tuning in for the last slice of the Ayke Mukos family life.
But it was the unstoppable force of BBC’s Celebrity MasterChef that won the 9pm slot, with 3.7 million viewers and a 19% share tuning to see gurning, spray-tanned horseman of the apocalypse, Rylan Clark, and a flock of other randoms cook some food.
Over on south London’s finest tennis courts, Wimbledon 2day netted 1.7 million viewers at 8:30pm on BBC Two as a 9% share tuned in for the day’s highlights.
Meanwhile, highlights of the day’s ‘action’ from the Big Brother house secured 1.1 million viewers for Channel 5, resulting in a 6% share.
At 8pm, BBC One went all a bit educational and explored Britain Beneath Your Feet, with the Dallas Campbell-fronted factual show securing an impressive 3.3 million viewers and an 18% share.
On Channel 4, Dogs: Their Secret Lives (8pm) brought in 1.2 million viewers while yet another show about welfare aired on Channel 5. The simply titled Benefits (8pm) was a depressing, albeit interesting, look at three people who have clocked up 37 years on benefits between them and was watched by 1 million viewers and a 6% share.
At 8:30pm, ITV aired Big Box Little Box, in which TV producers basically get real-life families to flog superfluous gadgets instead of doing the honest thing and paying for an ad slot. 2.3 million viewers and a 12% share tuned in for the latest Gogglebox-style reviews.
Earlier in the world of soap, EastEnders (BBC One, 7:30pm) faced stiff competition from a double helping of anarchic rural soap Emmerdale (ITV).
The first trip to the Yorkshire Dales at 7pm claimed the top spot, with a story centred on a teddycam scandal, bringing in just over 5 million viewers and a 29% share. The 8:30pm follow-up brought in 4.9 million viewers and a 26% share.
The latest bout of shouting on EastEnders (BBC One, 7:30pm) was watched by a little over 5 million viewers and a 27% share, resulting in the day’s second biggest show.
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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