The Syndicate’s Downton-infused series débuts with 5.4m
Last night saw both of the BBC’s terrestrial channels treat viewers to the return of two successful shows, with Key Mellor’s drama The Syndicate (9pm) providing the biggest prime time draw.
The third series debuted in its traditional Tuesday night slot and, as usual, the wish-fulfilment cautionary tale focused on a brand new assortment of downtrodden ordinary types who make good and win big on a fictional lottery.
This time around the struggling working-class typecasts brought a sprinkle of Downton Abbey to the mix, with the eponymous syndicate made up of the staff of an ailing Scarborough manor house.
While the added Upstairs, Downstairs element certainly put a fresh spin on things, the third series wasn’t a guaranteed success with a high probability that audiences would tire of what is essentially the same careful-what-you-wish-for beats rehashed each series.
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.
Yesterday introduced Lenny Henry as a groundskeeper intent on beating the lotto odds and Alice Krige as Lady Muck and managed to secure the exact same overnight figure as the last series opener two years ago.
5.4 million viewers tuned in to see the show make a change of pace and focus on all the characters, resulting in a 26% share and the biggest show at 9pm.
Meanwhile on BBC Two, tense reality show An Hour to Save Your Live (9pm) returned for a second series and once again brought far too much reality to viewers’ screens.
It’s basically 24 Hours in A&E without all the contrived human interest elements, spending its time focusing on the horrendous emergencies at hand.
Focusing on three very real patients and the critical decisions emergency staff have to make in the crucial first hour, the brutal scenes brought in 1.8 million viewers and a 9% share.
Not doing well at all was ITV’s 9pm offering, The Secret Life of Your House.
Kind of like a normal nature documentary, but focusing on a deliberate insect infestation in a modern property, the stomach-churning fun brought in just 983,000 viewers and a 5% share for the commercial broadcaster.
Over on Channel 4, Paul Abbot’s eight-part offensive police series, No Offence (9pm), passed the halfway mark as the team of mismatched Manchester-based officers were tasked with protecting a notorious child killer.
After opening up with 2.2 million viewers five weeks ago, last night’s slice of no-nonsense police procedural secured 1.2 million viewers and a 6% share.
As an alternative there was some sparkly tat available over on Channel 5 with the latest edition of Bringing Up Baby: The Blinger, The Better (9pm). The depressing look at well-meaning mothers completely missing the point of good parenting brought in 961,000 viewers and a 5% share.
Afterwards, the nonsensical dramatics in the Big Brother (10pm) house continued and was watched by 1.2 million viewers and a 7% share, Channel 5’s biggest audience of the day.
At 8pm, Holby City (BBC One) delivered the goods with 4.3 million viewers and a 22% share, while the contrived chemistry on Kirstie and Phil’s Love It or List It (Channel 4, 8pm) came to an end and was watched by 1.5 million viewers and an 8% share.
Earlier, soap land was hit by a cataclysmic event known as the British summer, which saw ratings plummet.
The fallout of Sharon Mitchell’s trampy parental discovery pulled in just 4.9 million viewers and a 24% share on EastEnders at 7:30pm on BBC One, which meant a direct clash with ITV’s hour-long Emmerdale.
The latest sexy-time rural shenanigans from the Dales brought in 5.4 million viewers and a 28% share, resulting in the day’s biggest hit.
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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