Strictly reigns over weekend TV with a peak of 11.3m
This past weekend brought a double deluge of each of TV’s top three reality shows as celebrities battled it out in their own unique ways to win over viewers’ hearts and minds in a battle for light entertainment dominance.
Whether your thing is watching minor celebrities dance the night away, nosh on some random animal’s testicles or creating drama by crushing a young singer’s dreams, then this weekend’s schedule definitely had a choice for you.
The first of Saturday’s shows scientifically designed to entertain the masses was endurance smiling competition Strictly Come Dancing at 6:50pm on BBC One.
The first of two episodes saw the remaining eight toe tappers do their thing live from glamourous Blackpool, with the one hour and twenty minute show brining in a whopping 10.3 million viewers and a 45% share.
8pm on ITV kicked off another one hour and forty minutes of The X Factor, a show which continued to slowly crawl towards irrelevance as the worn-out format reached the fourth live show of the series and attempted to ram up the pure spectacle of over hyped karaoke.
An audience of 6.6 million viewers tuned in to see the contestants sing in the theme of heartbreak, while an appearance by confetti-covered Ed Sheeran helped secure a 29% share.
Back over on BBC One grandfatherly time traveller Doctor Who (8:10pm) returned to ruin everyone’s evening with a darker-than-usual 60 minutes of ‘fun’ which saw permanently plucky – and increasingly cocky – assistant Clara cruelly meet her maker.
Although this is the type of show where characters usually manage to stay dead for only an episode or two, Saturday’s dose of trauma brought a grim finality to it, helping bring in 4.4 million viewers and a 20% share.
Later on, BBC One’s dependable workhorse Casualty (9pm) secured 3.9 million viewers and managed to hold its own against ITV’s main draw with a 17% share.
Saturday’s trip to the Australian ‘personality’-infested jungle didn’t kick off to the late hour of 9:40pm, with the entire instalment of I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! once again being hijacked by Lady Colin Campbell’s social psychosis.
7.2 million viewers watched as a disagreement about a can of tomato soup escalated quickly, resulting in a 35% share for ITV.
Sunday evening kicked off with a fresh array of programming with the mammoth popularity of Countryfile (BBC One, 6:15pm) seeing 7.6 million people tuning in to catch a glimpse of presenter Tom Heap weighing up the pros and cons of dredging Britain’s ports, resulting in a 37% share.
On ITV, last week’s postponed episode of perfected hockey silliness Jekyll and Hyde (7pm) managed to secure just 1.6 million viewers and a 7% share.
At 7:15pm, BBC One offered up a forty-five slice of Strictly Come Dancing and pulled in the weekend’s biggest audience as 10.7 million viewers watched as seriously unpopular singer Jamelia was asked to sling ‘er ‘ook, peaking at 11.3 million and resulting in a 45% average share.
Later at 8pm, The X Factor Results (ITV) and Antiques Roadshow (BBC One) went head to head with Cowell’s dusty format managing to beat the experts on BBC One.
6.7 million viewers and a 27% share watched as Anton Stephans got sent home while 6 million viewers and a 25% share watched Fiona Bruce swan about Kent’s Walmer Castle as if she owned the place.
While The X Factor was overshadowed by it’s rivals, it did manage to generate the highest amount of tweets on both days.
At 9pm, 4 million viewers and a 17% share watched animals rip each other apart on The Hunt (9pm) while Sunday’s final chance at some fun, I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!, secured 8.5 million viewers and a 36% 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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