Midsomer Murders adds UFOs, continues to dominate
Midsomer Murders (8pm) returned to ITV last night for another two-hour helping of silly-but-fun sleuthing, after the 18th series launched to a relatively strong audience last week.
4.9 million viewers tuned in last Monday to welcome back the rural murder show’s current testosterone-fuelled dynamic duo, as DCI Barnaby and his hip youthful partner DS Nelson searched for a rich man’s corpse (a moderately unbonkers visit to the cursed hamlet if there ever was one).
Last night saw the second case in the current run strike Midsomer gold thanks to the pairing of UFOs and the now-standard guest appearance from a random ex soap star.
Yesterday’s trip to the county of the damned saw viewers increase slightly by a gentle 5% week on week, as former EastEnders/Coronation Street drama dispenser, Michelle Collins, helped the detectives deal with a possible alien-related murder.
5.1 million viewers tuned in for the latest delivery of easy-to-watch self-contained fun, leading to Midsomer Murders out-performing its rivals in its 120 minute time slot and resulting in a 24% share.
BBC One’s late evening output kicked off with Dickensian at 8pm, with the odd genre soap netting 2.2 million viewers and a 10% share.
Afterwards, there was yet another panel show once again featuring all those comedians who appear in all those other panel show. The latest Would I Lie to You? (8:30pm) brought in 1.8 million viewers and an 8% share.
Things were a little friendlier to the eye at 9pm as the third and final episode of Great Barrier Reef with David Attenborough saw the 89-year-old explorer jump in a submersible vehicle to explore the reef’s deepest reaches.
An audience of 2.5 million viewers hopped aboard for the claustrophobic journey, resulting in an 11% share.
On BBC Two, one of those van Tulleken twins and a bunch of other TV medics got together to trigger extreme paranoia, with the latest episode of Trust Me, I’m a Doctor looking at diets that make you put on weight, the dangers of household sprays and a piece revealing that alcohol may actually be bad for you.
2.6 million viewers turned in to be informed and entertained in equal measures, resulting in a 12% share.
At 9pm, Professor Brian Cox and Dara O’Briain turned their attentions to the skies for the second instalment of Stargazing Live, which secured 1.4 million viewers and a 7% share. [advert position=”left”]
On Channel 4, Mary Portas Secret Shopper secured 1.6 million viewers (a 7% share) at 8pm, while 24 Hours in A&E delivered another hour of emotional and uplifting real-life tales, resulting in 1.8 million viewers and an 8% share.
Channel 5 offered up more TV doctor types at 8pm, documenting the exciting going ons in a general practice in GPs: Behind Closed Doors (8pm). 1.2 million viewers tuned in to see the thrilling diagnosis and treatment, resulting in a 6% share.
The latest so-wrong-it-might-be-right bizarreness from the Celebrity Big Brother (9pm) house was watched by 1.9 million viewers and a 9% share on Channel 5.
But it was ITV’s two soaps that netted Wednesday’s top spots with Emmerdale‘s (7pm) latest drama securing 6.1 million viewers and a 32% share.
At 7:30pm, scenes of Fiz suffering from a cold on Coronation Street netted the number one spot, resulting in 7.3 million viewers and a 35% 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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