More Than 6.5 Million Come To The Party On BBC One

BBC One’s black comedy The Dinner Party, starring Lee Evans and ex-EastEnder Jessie Wallace, was a hit in last night’s 9pm to 10pm timeslot, gaining an average adult audience of more than 6.5 million.

The programme gave the channel a 30.4% viewing share at the time, compared to ITV1’s share of 13.7% for Marco Pierre White’s Hell’s Kitchen, which drew more than 2.9 million adults on average in the timeslot.

Earlier, Casualty on BBC One won the slot over the final of Britain’s Favourite View. The medical drama gained more than 6.1 million adult viewers over its hour-long running time, giving it a total share of 28.9%, whilst just over 3.4 million (16.1%) watched Wastwater in the Lake District crowned Britain’s Favourite View.

On Saturday evening, The X Factor continued to perform well, with around 6.9 million adults on average lured to ITV1 to see which rough diamonds made it through to Boot Camp.

The programme took a 39.6% audience share between 7.30pm and 8.30pm, whilst the return of Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway grabbed a 28% share with almost 5.4 million adult viewers.

BBC One’s sitcoms were the big ratings winners on Friday night, with My Family and After You’ve Gone gaining over 5.3 million and around 4.7 million respectively.

The long-running Zoe Wanamaker show gained a 34.3% share for the channel, whilst the Nicholas Lyndhurst programme took a 25% share.

Meanwhile, Phil Mitchell’s descent back into alcoholism EastEnders was seen by around 6.7 million (37.1%), whilst almost 3.6 million (19%) managed to stomach A Bucket O’ French and Saunders, which looked back on the comedy duo’s past decades in an irritating ‘chopped up’ style.

Over on ITV1, France’s shock defeat against Argentina was witnessed by an average adult audience of around 3.4 million, giving the channel an 18.8% viewing share between 7.30pm and 10pm.

In-depth reports on the home nations’ Rugby World Cup matches, including viewing figures and advertising breakdowns, will appear on NewsLine throughout the tournament.

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, ITV2 and Sky One.

BBC: 020 8743 8000 www.bbc.co.uk ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itv.com