TV Overnights: brutal Hunted wins 9pm share for BBC One
Last night violent mystery drama Hunted continued to beat, scratch and burst open the competition – all the while managing to keep its pout intact. We’re four episodes in and the questions just kept on coming.
The latest jaunt in to the paranoid world of private security and shaky cams saw Sam keeping herself busy by investigating yet another shadowy organisation. Having perfected the art of dispensing savage beatings while maintaining her now trademark sultry glare, actress Mellissa George made our memories of Summer Bay feel like a lifetime ago.
BBC One offered up the latest episode of the barmy spy thriller at 9pm, putting it head to head with ITV1’s Homefront. The audience continued to decline as the bloody labyrinth of a plot eluded the casual audience.
3.2 million viewers tuned in to watch Sam’s ferocious eight week marathon reach the half-way point, resulting in a 15% share. This is down only slightly week on week but 1.2 million short compared to the opening episode.
With such relentless competition, Homefront‘s defences were well and truly beaten as the drama about military wives reported its lowest ratings yet. The fifth and penultimate episode brought a rare cause for celebration as the men returned with a homecoming party.
Not all officers were welcomed back with open arms and it wasn’t long before domestic situations turned nasty. 2 million viewers (a 9% share) caught up with latest drama as Bad Cop actor Warren Brown adjusted to life with his wife.
There was another cause for celebration over on BBC Two as The Choir: Sing While You Work (9pm) came to a close. After six long and gruelling weeks, smarmy mini person Gareth Malone finally gathered together the three best workplace choirs, all ready for a fight to the death.
Think Hunted, but instead of fists the weapon of choice was a sunny disposition and a keen knowledge of sock rock tracks. If the idea of your colleagues spontaneously breaking in to harmonies makes you want to pull your hair out, then look away now.
Last week the staff of Manchester Airport were sent back to their arduous day jobs despite belting out Sinatra’s Sing,Sing,Sing with manic peppiness. This left the Royal Mail, Lewisham NHS Trust and some water company to face a crowd of thousands, all baying for blood.
In the end, there could only be one winner and the little Leicestershire water company that could, Severn Trent (catchy), dashed the competitor’s dreams with a rendition of the ever dependable, Feeling Good. 2.9 million viewers (a 12% share) tuned in to watch the new top dogs of the amateur choir scene be crowned, up 27% on the opening episode six weeks ago.
In the primetime slot on Channel 4 was the too-mental-to-make-up documentary The Town That Caught Tourette’s (9pm). Last year the small town of Le Roy, New York saw a number of high school girls develop a taste for unexplainable ticks and outbursts.
The hour long investigation documented the unusually sudden behaviour but offered up no explanations apart from the usual conspiracy theories. 2.2 million viewers (a 10% share) tuned in to see if mobile phones, chemical spills or competitive behaviour brought on the condition, resulting in the channel’s biggest hit of the day.
It’s only been a nine days since two actresses faked the beautiful birthing process in front of 8.8 million viewers but Thursday’s double visit to Emmerdale saw the audience drop to pre-live episode levels.
Last night saw poor old Chas in court as she faced her hearing. Being half innocent, it was soap law that Chas would be sent down for a crime she was only 10% responsible for.
The first visit to the Dales at 7:30pm attracted 6.8 million people (a 33% share) with the later episode falling to 6.1 million viewers (a 26% share).
The second episode of Emmerdale at 40 at 8:30pm highlighted the adulterous storylines over the past four decades, of which there were plenty to choose from. The trip through the extramarital material pulled in 3 million viewers, resulting in a 13% share.
BBC One brought us to Walford at 7:30pm and Phil Mitchell’s bad ideas to reclaim grandchild Lexi were coming thick and fast. After Sharon shot down his idea of faking a relationship for social services, E20’s bald kingpin thought it would be a good idea to get Lola married off to his jailed psychotic son Ben. That would certainly provide the stable setting a small child needs.
The latest goings on down EastEnders way pulled in a audience of 7 million viewers. The 32% audience share made the BBC One soap the most watched programme 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.