‘Theatrical’ Celebrity Big Brother launches to 2.7m
Last night on Channel 5 the unholy circus that is Celebrity Big Brother (9pm) rolled back into town for the first time this year.
The launch show for Channel 5’s 10th edition of the ‘celeb’ version in five years introduced the damaged souls that would entertain a suspect segment of the nation over the next few weeks through the tried and tested medium of slow-burning mental breakdowns.
While the line-up remains a familiar collection of mostly non-familiar faces, the house itself has received a new fashionably antiquated lick of paint with the interior attempting to give off a Victorian theatrical feel, while the garden has been transformed into a ‘Whitechapel style foggy street scene’.
Whether Big Brother plans to go the whole hog and actually slaughter and dismember any of this series’ starlets is anyone’s guess, but it was business as usual during last night’s live launch.
2.7 million viewers tuned in to see the latest array of the addicted, the deranged and the outright tragically delusional enter the house and collide and combust for our entertainment, up from August’s launch audience of 2.1 million but down from last January’s début audience of 3.1 million viewers.
The two hour show secured a healthy 13% share for its two-hour run.
There were even more depraved scenes on offer on BBC One with the second consecutive night of corpse fiddling fun.
Only one day after Silent Witness (9pm) made yet another successful return to British TV, last night saw Dr Nikki’s week get a lot worse as the poor diminutive forensic pixie was only framed for murder!
Monday evening brought the opening episode of the atmospheric crime thriller’s nineteenth series which saw Amanda Burton’s first regeneration (Emilia Fox’s Dr Nikki Alexander) attract the attentions of a crazed killer, a fairly normal happening in this show.
An audience of 6.5 million viewers tuned in on Monday night, which was actually down from the 6.7 million viewers that the 18th series début attracted in January 2015.
Tuesday night’s episode wrapped up the first two-part story of the current run as Dr Nikki had to prove her innocence and deal with an intense interrogation from the brutish DI Liza Tarbuck, bringing in an average audience on 6.7 million viewers and a 29% share in the process.
At the same time ITV was trying out something slightly new by slamming together components of BBC One’s reconstructed tragedy show 999 and the real-life emotional overflow of recent hits such as Long Lost Family.
The resulting produce Saved (9pm) brought viewers harrowing tales of deadly accidents intervened by the help of heroic strangers, with the ensuing reunions providing those essential outpourings of emotion.
The first of four episodes secured an audience of 1.4 million viewers last night, with the tale of a parachuting adventure going horribly wrong netting a 6% share.
On BBC Two, You Make Me Feel Like Dancing (9pm) showed choreographer Jack Murphy attempting to get people to dance, or something, with the first of two episodes brining in 1 million viewers and a 4% share, while Channel 4’s Big Fat Quiz of Everything secured 1.5 million viewers and an 8% share.
Earlier at 8pm, Holby City performed admirably on BBC One with 4.8 million viewers and a 22% share, while BBC Two’s new series Victorian Bakers was watched by 2.6 million viewers and a 12% share.
ITV also had another new show on offer at 8pm, launching Trawlermen Tales because there simply aren’t enough dangerous fishing-based reality shows constantly airing on digital channels. 2 million viewers tuned in to learn that trawler-based jobs aren’t exactly easy, netting a 9% share.
Even earlier, at the dawn of the evening schedule, Emmerdale (ITV) swooped in at 7pm to pick 6.3 million viewers and a 31% share.
But it was BBC One’s particular brand of depressive teatime drama that secured Tuesday’s top spot as June Whitfield returned as Sister Ruth to drop some of those plot-advancing bombshells in EastEnders (7:30pm).
After only stumbling back onto the Square last week, yesterday saw Kat Moon receive yet more traumatic news, with news of a secret baby pulling in 7.2 million viewers and a 34% 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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