‘Old’ Tricks Plaster Over Wallpaper
BBC One’s repeats of cop drama New Tricks continue to get the better of ITV1’s underrated comedy/soap combo Moving Wallpaper/Echo Beach on Friday nights.
Last week’s episode, which saw Dennis Waterman and the team reopening a kidnapping case from 1992, attracted an impressive audience of 5.3 million adults on average. Over on the main commercial channel, Moving Wallpaper and Echo Beach could only muster 2.5 million and 2.2 million respectively.
Things were much better for ITV1 over the weekend with strong viewing figures from the channel’s most popular programmes. Harry Hill’s TV Burp pulled in 4.4 million adults, comfortably beating a ‘body beautiful’ edition of The Weakest Link, which had 3.4 million.
Following on from Harry Hill was the Geordie duo for Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, which doesn’t appear to be affected by last year’s phone-in scandal, pulling in 5.8 million adult viewers. Over on BBC One Eurovision: Your Decision, won by X-Factor runner-up Andy Abrahams, was watched by 4.8 million.
BBC One had more success later on Saturday night, with medical drama Casualty and comedy Love Soup getting the better of ITV’s offering. The latest goings on at Holby City General held sway with 6.6 million, while the Tamsin Greig romantic comedy started its new series with four million. ITV1’s quiz show, Duel, and repeat showing of movie blockbuster The Bourne Supremacy garnered respective viewing totals of 3.2 and 3.3 million.
Sunday night saw ITV1 slay the opposition with the triple-hander of Dancing On Ice, Wild At Heart and Lewis. Kicking things off was the ice-skating contest, which pulled in 8.1 million adult viewers for the main show (with a further 7.7 for the results show). Then the penultimate episode of safari drama Wild At Heart, featuring the wedding of Max and Rosie, attracted 7.7 million viewers. Finally the second episode of the current series of Lewis, which saw Kevin Whatley’s title character running into Morse’s ex, pulled in 7.6 million adults.
Elsewhere the excellent globe trotting adventure, Last Man Standing, graduated from digital television to BBC Two. The first edition of the eight-part series, featuring the contestants competing in a Brazilian tribal wrestling contest, was watched by 736,000 viewers.
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.
ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itv.com BBC: 020 8743 8000 www.bbc.co.uk