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TV Overnights: BBC Two’s The Fall defeats uninviting 9pm rivals with 3.5m

TV Overnights: BBC Two’s The Fall defeats uninviting 9pm rivals with 3.5m

The FallMonday’s prime time slot brought a deluge of social extremes, representing a wide variety of British life. And for once, last night’s ratings proved to be just as fragmented as real life.

First up was the please-not-on-a-Monday-night despair of The Prisoners (9pm) on BBC One.

The third and final part of the frequently hard to watch documentary about re offenders focused on London’s Pentonville and Holloway prisons, and told the tale of two separated star crossed lovers.

Airing three weeks after the last helping of prison life, last night’s finale delivered more desolate stories about people desperately trying to change despite the odds very much not being in their favour. Happy Monday, one and all.

The eye-opening look behind prison doors (and eventually life back in the real world) was watched by 2.7 million people and a 12% share but failed to bring in the biggest audience in the premium time slot, with viewers opting for something only slightly less traumatising.

At least things were slightly more cheerful over on Channel 4, as charming documentary Skint (9pm) looked at families dealing with extreme unemployment rates in a Scunthorpe estate. The show also highlighted just how handy it can be to have a high number of heroin dealers close by – bringing much needed household goods straight to your door at unbelievable, discounted rates.

2.5 million viewers (an 11% share) signed on to get a taste for life on the social welfare, securing Channel 4’s biggest audience of the day. You sense commissioners twitching with excitement as a TOWIE-like ‘reality’ show starts to formulate in their heads.

But none of the real-life struggle could compare to the desolation that resulted from ITV’s power hour of comedy at the same time. Vicious brought another half an hour of antique and trying cattiness, as Sir Ian was up for a small role on Downtown Abbey. And that was pretty much the whole joke, if you don’t count constant jagged sneering, which most people don’t.

The third episode saw viewers continue to flee the company of Freddie and Stuart, with the audience now down to 2.7 million viewers and a 10% share.

Straight up afterwards was The Job Lot, the sitcom that puts the smile in chronically high unemployment levels. At least the show attempts to get a laugh out of the current bleakness sweeping the nation – praise would be much deserved indeed if it actually managed to succeed on some level.

The second gem in ITV’s Monday night laugh-fest is facing an equally bleak future, with viewers falling harder than the country’s economic growth. Last night, the comedy only managed 2.2 million viewers, resulting in a 10% share.

Which meant that the 9pm crown was won by the terrestrial underdog. Last night BBC Two debuted its brand new Belfast-set (and well-received) series The Fall. The intense drama saw Gillian Anderson’s Met detective arrive in Belfast on the hunt of a serial killer. Thankfully, the drama offered a lot more than the usual clichés, with half of the action being balanced out with a view point from the possible killer.

The unique spin on the well-trodden format captured 3.5 million viewers, with the first of five parts winning a 15% share.

With a late evening line-up like that it was no surprise that the frothy soaps on earlier attracted the biggest audiences of the day. Emmerdale won over 6.6 million viewers at 7pm. The first trip to Coronation Street at 7:30pm won the day’s biggest audience of 8.2 million, resulting in a 39% share.

The second episode at 8:30pm saw viewers fall to 8 million and a 34% share. EastEnders, over on BBC One at 8pm brought in the channel’s biggest audience with 7 million viewers.

After Cornwall with Caroline Quentin and James Nesbitt’s Ireland, last night brought the latest fluffy Coronation Street sandwich (or schedule) filler in the form of Adrian Edmondson’s Dales. Except some overpaid executive at ITV figured the comedian’s name wasn’t householdy enough, broke tradition and went with the less confusing title of The Dales (ITV, 8pm).

Mr Jennifer Saunders (perhaps that would work better?) and his paid-for holiday seemed to do the trick – the habitually inoffensive stroll pulled in 3.3 million viewers and a 15% 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.

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