TV Overnights: Coronation Street’s wedding from hell secures 9.7m for ITV
BBC One’s launched their double whammy of funny last night as Miranda (9pm) kicked off an hour of prime time comedy. 6.4 million viewers (a 23% share) watched the socially inept business woman get herself in to yet another hilarious tangle that would probably appeal more to you mum.
Afterwards was the latest adventures of Mrs Brown’s Boys (BBC One, 9:30pm), with last night’s fun derived from Agnes having an particular itch that needed to be scratched. Valentine’s day was around the corner and poor old Mrs Brown was all alone.
Just under 7 million people caught up with the Dublin matriarch’s attempts at internet dating, resulting in a 27% share. And granddad got addicted to Viagra. Throw in the word ‘feck’ a few times every minute and you have the makings of comedy gold.
Lewis (ITV, 9pm) was dealing with infidelity issues as he took another constable under his wing while Hathaway was having some time away to become mentally healthy again. The first of a two part story revolved around the discovery of an embalmed body (what else?), with the episode performing well against BBC One’s onslaught of ‘old school’ comedy. 5.9 people tuned in to see Lewis break in distractable DC Gray, netting a 22% share.
In the 9pm slot on Channel 5 was Celebrity Big Brother which saw the remaining contestants being taken out for McDonald’s, a West End show and an intensive training course in dealing with the media on their exit. 2.1 million viewers watched as the house mates were treated to an open door policy.
The latest shenanigans netted an 8% share. Seriously, how could they get such high ranking personalities without bending the rules a little? Tut, tut. And Big Brother used to stand for so much.
Earlier 3.6 million viewers watched the return of The Great Comic Relief Bake Off (BBC Two, 8:30pm) which brought the channel its biggest audience of the day. The nice thing about the special show is that it doesn’t use ‘celebrity’ in the title and they don’t pretend to be anything other than jobbing media folk. An audience share of 13% watched as Paul Hollywood’s mug was immortalised in a chocolate and gold glitter ganache.
Meanwhile over on the inner circle of hell, EastEnders (BBC One, 7:30pm) brought us a total change from the norm as Tanya had a big old teary meltdown. The shouty and snotty ‘moment’ was brought on by the presence of Max’s new and formerly secret wife, a bit of a sore point for poor Tanya (Max’s old/future wife). Like a glitch in The Matrix, the East End bruiser is deemed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again, caught in the sensual grip of manipulating Max’s manly grasp.
It might sound barmier than a Christmas visit from Doctor Who but that’s what the people love. 8.8 million viewers saw Tanya confront Max’s new wife, Jezebel Farnsworth, informing her to stay away from her family. The week’s first visit to London’s happiest district captured a 33% audience share, stealing the highest share in that period away from ITV.
This meant a bizarre filler holiday propaganda show suffered needlessly over on the other side. The second series of Cornwall with Caroline Quentin (ITV, 8pm) was in full flow as everyone’s favourite brunette from Men Behaving Badly sauntered around picturesque settings and said ‘traditional’ far too many times. Caroline Quentin really loves Cornwall. A lot.
An audience share of 15% managed to escape the grim surroundings of Albert Square to see Caroline gleefully make some ice cream, visit a cider farm and witness some hedge reconstruction. The anxiety free day out attracted 3.9 million viewers in to its calming net.
Earlier on in the day, there was yet another disastrous wedding in Coronation Street. You’d have to wonder why any Vicar in the general Weatherfield area would take any more bookings, after the mockery they’ve made of such a sacred institution.
Last night’s nuptials were no exception. Tyrone was marrying abusive wife Kirsty in order to get more rights over his new born daughter. Sadly, and expectedly for Tyrone, that little plan didn’t pan out as his deranged lover stumbled across his secret dossier of evidence against her. 9.6 million viewers tuned in to see the vows at 7:30pm, netting a 37% share.
The surprises didn’t end there however. Crusty grifter Lewis continued to dig his seductive claws in to out Gail. He should aim higher, really. Low hanging fruit and all that. Seriously – how much money could Gail have stored away? I know she’s been married 19 times but burying them all must have proved costly.
Unusually for soaps, the second episode of the night actually attracted a bigger audience than the earlier action. 9.7 million viewers watched as the wedding got as awkward as expected, although it secured a smaller share of 36%.
At 10 pm on Channel 4 was the third and final part of horror documentary What Happens in Kavos, a show focusing on what happens when the critically stupid are allowed to roam free on a Greek island. What fun could possibly ensue?
According to SecondSync, Channel 4’s cautionary tale has been the most tweeted about show each day it has been on, creating a word of mouth buzz among school children. In the real world, however, 1.2 million viewers tuned in to see incoherent teens mark themselves forever with tasteful tattoos (because they’re maaaaaadd) resulting in a 7% 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.