The Syndicate ends another successful run for BBC One
Tuesday night saw the third series of BBC One’s cautionary soap opera The Syndicate (9pm) reach its suspenseful climax, with the rags-to-riches tale topping off another successful run with an impressively consistent audience size.
The supermarket-set first series opened with 5.2 million viewers in March 2012 and climbed to 5.4 million by the time the finale aired six weeks later. Series two, based in a hospital, managed to improve on this exactly a year later, with 5.4 million and 5.5 million viewers tuning in for the opening and closing episodes, respectively.
Six weeks ago 5.4 million viewers tuned in to see a brand new cast of characters launch a bevy of personal drama by winning the lotto, as the staff of a dilapidated country manor set their sights on the aristocratic employers.
Yesterday’s finale finally revealed the watery fate of poor little rich girl Amy and secured an audience of 5.5 million viewers, with the shows 27% audience share once again seeing The Syndicate walk away with the 9pm slot.
At the same time, there were two ‘quirky prime time workplace documentaries’ up on offer, with fans of that kind of thing getting to choose between visiting a NatWest branch in Huddersfield or taking to the skies with the glamourous ladies of Virgin Atlantic. You can pretty much guess which succeeded.
The third episode – and grand finale – of The Bank: A Matter of Life and Debt (9pm) saw BBC Two continue on its transparent PR exercise to put an underpaid human face to the evil wheel of finance. An audience of 807,000 viewers and a 4% share tuned in to see desperate people apply for loans in order to keep out of the poorhouse.
[advert position=”left”]
Meanwhile, the excess of Virgin Atlantic: Up in the Air (9pm) was balanced out with huge annual losses as the airline celebrated its 30th anniversary.
2.3 million viewers watched as grown adults looked ecstatic to bag a job that pays £12,000 a year, with the newly christened trolley dollies netting an 11% share.
On Channel 4, the exploitative horror show that is Child Genius (9pm) continued, with 1.1 million viewers and a 6% share choosing to spend their evening watching young children cry under pressure.
At 8pm, Holby City (BBC One) netted 4.1 million viewers, while Wimbledon 2day (BBC Two) secured 1.5 million viewers. Over on ITV, 2.6 million viewers joined in on the Love Your Garden fun while Channel 4 treated everyone to some more Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners, netting 1.3 million viewers and a 7% share.
At 7pm, just 4.8 million viewers tuned into Emmerdale (ITV) while EastEnders took the day’s top spot with Stacey Branning going all Nancy Drew at Jean Slater’s wedding. 6.1 million viewers and a 33% share tuned in.
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.
To get all the latest Mediatel Newsline updates follow us on Twitter.