New Tricks still has the pulling power as it nears the end
Tuesday night saw the evergreen retired detectives of New Tricks prepare for the end, with last night’s instalment seeing the cold case team face their penultimate murder mystery.
After twelve long series of grey power-outsmarting adventures and complete cast shake-ups, the show has seen a noticeable fall in viewers compared to the Amanda Redman-fronted glory days.
Whether that’s simply down to changing viewer habits, the ‘success’ of the iPlayer affecting live viewing, the possibility that the original target audience may be ‘thinning out’ in ranks or that the format has indeed stayed past its welcome, the fact remains that New Tricks has continued to be a time slot winning show for BBC One.
The final run of episodes kicked off at the start of August with 5.3 million viewers, a significant decline on previous series openers, and jumped to 5.7 million the next week for the last original star Dennis Waterman’s exit.
Yesterday’s second-to-last investigation saw Tamzin Outhwaite, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Denis Lawson and newcomer Larry Lamb look into the murder of an alternative-medicine practitioner involved in cryopreservation and took in the biggest audience in the 9pm slot.
5.4 million viewers tuned in to see the gang grapple with silly science, resulting in a 26% share.
[advert position=”left”]At the same time on BBC Two was The Naked Choir with Gareth Malone (BBC Two), which despite the very ‘cool’ Channel 4 title was pretty much the same standard format you’ve come to expect.
The second episode found the impish perma-youthful presenter, judges and contestants all still fully clothed, as the super serious quest to find the UK’s best amateur choir continued.
An audience of 1.8 million viewers tuned in to see Gareth fire up his special mentor abilities, helping the groups overcome the customary teething troubles and resulting in a 9% share.
Meanwhile, Britain’s Biggest Adventures with Bear Grylls (9pm) concluded with its third episode on ITV. After exploring North Wales (looking at prawns) and the Yorkshire Dales (walking, lots of walking), last night’s grand finale saw the adventurer don his special mountain outfit to tackle the Scottish Highlands.
After opening with 1.4 million, the audience fell slightly to 1.2 for the second ‘adventure’ with last night’s final episode seeing a fairly unexciting jump to 1.3 million viewers and a 6% share.
On Channel 4 Educating Cardiff (9pm) continued to transform pupil’s everyday events into prime time drama. The latest visit to Willows High School in Cardiff once again promoted a mischievous child into a TV star, netting 1.1 million viewers and a 6% share.
In a bid to confuse and shock viewers, Channel 5 decided to offer up something that was not only challenging and devastating but also rather thoughtful. The first of two episodes, Body Donors (9pm) followed two terminally ill people that decided to donate their bodies to science, with the documentary detailing the entire process.
An audience of 892,000 viewers tuned in for Tuesday night’s extensional and very emotional option, resulting in a 4% share.
At 8pm, Holby City (BBC One) secured 5.4 million viewers (a 22% share) while BBC Two’s The Hairy Bikers’ Northern Exposure was watched by 2 million viewers and a 10% share.
Sadly, on ITV it was time for the third and final part of Parking Wars (8pm), the exciting documentary that looks at the struggles over parking. 2.4 million viewers caught up with the intense finale which documented parking related chaos as far afield as Derby and Bristol, resulting in a 12% share.
On Channel 4, Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners (8pm) netted 1.2 million viewers and a 6% share. Meanwhile on Channel 5, The Yorkshire Vet (8pm) (very similar to Channel 4’s The Supervet, except less super and more Yorkshire) brought in 1 million viewers and a 5% share.
A little earlier, an hour-long episode of Emmerdale (ITV, 7pm) once again ruined EastEnders‘ (BBC One, 7:30pm) day. As always, with this particular clash, ITV’s usually less popular soap defeated its rival by securing 5.7 million viewers and a 29% share.
Not even scenes of Max Branning going all Minority Report while on the run could help EastEnders out, with the Walford manhunt only bringing in 4.9 million viewers and a 23% 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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