TV Overnights: Britain’s Got Talent advert nets 8m viewers for ITV1
“Please welcome…AMANDA HOLDEN!”
If that phrase sent a shiver through your nervous system, then last night’s main attraction might have sent you in to anaphylactic shock.
The 100th Royal Variety Performance (ITV1, 7:30pm) saw the frothy crème of the entertainment world gather under one roof, all eager to perform for recognition. The centenary saw the show move down from Manchester (for last year’s bog-standard 99th edition) to the glamorous Royal Albert Hall.
Reigning Queen of Talent, Amanda Holden was on hand to remind us (and the Queen) that none of this would have been possible without the genius of Simon Cowell. An audience of 8.1 million people wilfully tuned in to what can only be described as a shameless 2.5 hour promo for Britain’s Got Talent.
Not only that, Amanda treated us all to VT’s from that other show which featured her crying profusely at a variety of auditioning acts, all played out to a suitable uplifting soundtrack. Sometimes there’s just so much talent in the world…
This all culminated with a deranged teenage girl dancing with her scruffy dog in front of HRH. Along with netting the only audience share that mattered, the show wrangled in a 33% share of us plebs.
The presence of catnip for impressionable teenage girls (something called One Direction) saw the gala shenanigans jump up an impressive 21% year on year, locking in the biggest audience of the day. ITV1 singlehandedly secured the largest audience share from Emmerdale at 7pm (7.4 million viewers) up until 22:45pm.
Limply fighting the good fight at 9pm on BBC One was a repeat of last year’s New Tricks. The ageing detective show delivered an action packed (relatively speaking) episode but didn’t stand a chance against Britain’s Got Royal Variety Talent. 3.4 million viewers (a 14% share) fought off the charms of Amanda Holden, wisely deciding to search for a rotting corpse instead.
At the same time on BBC Two, a peek behind the curtain at one of London’s most prestigious hotels attracted 3 million people. Inside Claridge’s uncovered the pampered world available to cash-rich, taste-poor socialites at the Mayfair hotel, securing a 14% audience share for the channel.
Following in the recent custom of stand-up comedians not knowing their place, Sean Lock and Jon Richardson ventured out on a Southern state adventure on Channel 4 at 9pm.
Finally freed from the dank grubby comedy venues of the 80’s, the past decade has seen the profession return dividends – nationwide sell-out arena tours, best-selling stocking filler DVDs, a fulfilling rotation on the panel show circuit and the kind of lifestyle and prominence usually reserved for musical gods are some of the rewards now available.
The Real Man’s Road Trip: Sean and Jon Go West saw the two panel show fixtures travel to the Louisiana Bayou to see…well, it wasn’t quite clear what the point was apart from creating a Karl Pilkington-esque fish out of water ‘comedy’ to line their pockets. 974,000 viewers watched as the comedian’s Cajun and Creole flavoured calamities ensued, pulling in a 4% share.
Earlier, on the same channel Stephen Fry turned his attention to gadgets that make work more enjoyable. Surprisingly, futuristic alcohol and Valium dispensers were nowhere to be seen, instead Stephen showed us a pen which transports your scribblings on to a computer! WOW!
The third episode of Stephen Fry: Gadget Man (Channel 4, 8:30pm) was also pure nightmare fuel. Boffins created a dead-eyed melty faced version of the national treasure, a robot that could go and do the dirty media work in Stephen’s place. Instead they created a terrifying corpse-like, depressed, life-sized doll that will haunt your dreams forever.
Sir Alan of Sugar was also on hand to hark back to the olden days – a simpler time that meant carrying around a three pound calculator was better. 1 million people worked out their technology obsession with Stephen, helping secure a 4% share.
If any viewers felt the need to take a break and smudge themselves in misery during the preppy, chemical happiness that was the ITV1s variety show, EastEnders was on at 8pm on BBC One, half an hour in to the jazz handed proceedings.
Monday saw Shirley crawl out of the booze infested hole she’s been skulking around in for these past few months, just in time to see Ben sentenced for Our Hev’s murder. 6.4 million viewers watched as Phil Mitchell actually emoted, with tears and everything. A 25% audience share saw Phil reunite with his sour faced ruffian.
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.