TV Overnights: Another defeat for EastEnders as hour-long Emmerdale wins with a close finish
BBC Three’s latest groundbreaking use of the televisual medium came in the form of cringe-soaked documentary The Call Centre (9pm).
The shows follows the day to day interactions of the CEO of a large call centre in Swansea, who fancies himself as a bit of a David Brent (which should tell you everything you need to realise there is nothing but horror to come).
In the first of five (yes, five!) episodes, chronically cheerful Nev (who seems to be overdosing on the same happy pills as Frankie) torments, bullies and outright embarrasses his miserable staff by forcing them to sing.
A 5% share meant that the episode, called Happy People Sell, was BBC Three’s biggest hit of the day. 1 million viewers tuned in to see the call centre staff – who just want to skulk through their days and pay their bills – lose a little bit of their soul with each encounter with their boss.
Earlier in the day, an hour long episode of Emmerdale (ITV, 7pm) cast a long shadow last night, from the Yorkshire Dales all the way to down to Walford.
While the rural soap has been beating BBC’s flagship drama with more and more regularity, the victory was a little hollow as both soaps suffered with fickle audiences as viewers abandoned the high drama for high temperatures.
Tuesday night’s entertainment came in the form of shaky vet Rhona, who was preparing to go on holiday without her yummy painkillers. 5 million viewers tuned in to see the veterinarian mask her withdrawals from her family by downing some hard liquor. Despite the lower than usual audience, this was enough to be the day’s biggest hit, with an audience share of 29%.
It was reported that ITV suffered serious technical problems yesterday evening, making the service unavailable in many regions. Though this would have definitely affected ITV ratings, BBC One had no such excuse.
This meant that the glum residents of Albert Square really had something to be down about. Well, apart from octogenarian Dot Cotton battling with a domestic snake infestation, which is suitably biblical, especially as the vicar was about to call around.
Before last night’s EastEnders could edge any closer to the Carry On genre, the usual revenge storyline took over as Michael once again plotted to use his newborn child against demon ex Janine.
The events only managed to attract 4.8 million viewers and a 25% share – shockingly, this was enough to score the channel’s second biggest audience of the day (behind Regional News and Weather at 6:30pm with 5 million viewers).
Later in the prime time spot, terminally perky district nurse Frankie (BBC One, 9pm) helped a desperate couple to conceive (no, not like that). The fourth episode of the series focused squarely on ticking those female boxes, was watched by 3.9 million viewers and an 18% share.
ITV treated viewers to the first part of the documentary about rubbish collection, Dirty Britain (9pm). 1.6 million viewers tuned in and discovered that discarded waste is, like, really smelly and a bit yucky – securing a 29% share.
Over on Channel 4, viewers had the opportunity to witness another 24 Hours in A&E (9pm), minus the overwhelming scent of disinfectant and an overpowering sense of desolation. 2 million viewers watched as a variety of people from all walks of life screamed in pain for entertainment purposes.
The fourth episode of the never ending series (people are queuing at the door to get on apparently) secured a 10% share and brought in the channel’s biggest audience of the day.
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.