Lucy’s death sees EastEnders defeat Coronation Street
After a long weekend of exciting, high profile family entertainment, Easter Monday saw the TV schedule return to a more sedate and predictable line-up.
The return to normality meant that there wasn’t a Harry Potter or Disney Pixar film to be seen anywhere on the main terrestrial channels; instead, viewers were treated to the usual teatime onslaught of soapy hysterics.
Emmerdale (ITV) kicked off two hours of top-notch drama at 7pm, with Adam Barton’s eventful birthday party securing the day’s fourth biggest audience with 6.3 million viewers and a 31% share.
Straight up afterwards was Monday’s first visit to Coronation Street (ITV, 7:30pm) and there was plenty of bad behaviour on offer to entice viewers’ interests. Last night saw Weatherfield lady of the evening, Tina McIntyre, wile away her last few days alive (before the scriptwriting Gods snatch her away from us) by attracting the wrath of Steve McDonald, while Maria Connor thought that terrorising her ex with psychotic text messages would be a nice way to spend her Monday.
Unusually, ITV’s flagship soap only managed to bag Monday’s second biggest audience. 7.8 million viewers tuned in to see just how messy life can get when people exclusively interact with their direct neighbours only, generating a 35% share.
Over on BBC One at 8pm, there was some calm before the emotional storm as the Beales remained oblivious to the impending news of Lucy’s demise. EastEnders has always seemed to soar when characters are turned into a snotty, blubbering mess due to some horrible storyline, and last night’s bombshell was no exception.
Monday’s biggest audience turned in to see Ian Beale not only get kicked out of the Queen Vic, but his fiancé planned to leave him, he had a huge shouting match with his son and – last but not least, the long-suffering former tramp was informed by the police that his daughter had been found murdered.
The shock developments in Albert Square gave EastEnders the slight edge over Coronation Street, with 8.2 million viewers tuning in to see Ian’s ‘shocked’ face right before the famous drumbeats, resulting in a 35% share.
The second trip to Coronation Street (8:30pm) saw the audience fall slightly, with 7.6 million viewers and a 33% share watching as Steve confronted Tina over her clandestine romantic life.
Later in the prime time spot, BBC One gave viewers a lush new take on Daphne du Maurier’s novel, Jamaica Inn (9pm), a love story so bleak Ian Beale would be jealous. The first of three parts saw little orphan girl Mary show up at the Cornish Inn in an effort to expand her meagre family circle.
An impressive audience of 6 million viewers tuned in to see the dead daughter in Downton Abbey suspect something was seriously amiss with the traveller’s Gothic resting place, netting the 9pm slot with a 25% share.
At the same time on ITV, the commercial broadcaster attempted one of those tragicomedy biographies that BBC Four has been nailing over the past few years. Tommy Cooper: Not Like That, Like This (9pm) saw David Threlfall of Shameless don the famous fez for two hours of hard-drinking and adultery.
3.2 million viewers tuned in for the entire event to see the frank look at the comedian’s sordid life, right up until his death on live TV in 1984, resulting in a 16% share.
On BBC Two Sandi Toksvig continued to look at recession-proof businesses, this week turning the analytical focus on indestructible digital retailer, Amazon.
1.4 million viewers tuned in to see Amazon’s Retail Revolution: Business Boomers (9pm), a stark look at the aggressive tactics and shockingly limited profits claimed by the internet giant, resulting in a 6% share.
Over on Channel 4, One Born Every Minute continued to keep 1.7 million viewers on the edge of their seats, resulting in a 7% share and the channel’s biggest hit of the day.
Meanwhile, in the faraway land of Sky Atlantic, the continent of Westoros was still reeling from the events of last week’s Purple Wedding, which was good news for the digital broadcaster. After a slightly fragmented viewing experience over the last two weeks (including US simulcast and catch-up options before the UK broadcast), fans could only initially watch last night’s Game of Thrones (9pm) live, just like in the olden days.
The cut-back experience bolstered the fantasy drama’s ratings, with last night’s disturbing episode attracting the fourth series’ biggest audience to date. 927,000 viewers tuned in to see Jamie and Cersei Lannister’s incestuous relationship reach even further levels of wrong in a way that was pretty impossible to imagine four years ago.
The epic tale of revenge and honour attracted a 4% share for Sky Atlantic.
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Overnight data is available each morning in mediatel.co.uks 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 programmes actual start and end time.