TV Overnights: Dot’s frosty rant brings in 8.1m to BBC One
Last night BBC One walked away with the highest audience share in the 9pm slot as the cold carcasses of Silent Witness brought a bit of warmth to viewer’s Thursday night.
Not only was new recruit Jack up to his elbow in dead naked ladies but he also had to deal with his poisonous ex-girlfriend, a steely lady detective no less. The third episode of the musky smelling show’s 16th series continued to pull in a consistent 5.8 million viewers and a 23% audience share.
There wasn’t much in the way of competition for the flirting forensic team but ITV came close with Inside Death Row with Trevor McDonald (9pm). Not to worry though, the nation’s favourite cuddly ex-newsreader hadn’t suddenly dismembered somebody in a fit of rage. Instead, the Trinidad-born national treasure was interviewing inmates of Indiana State Maximum Security Prison’s death row.
An audience share of 18% tuned in to see Sir Trevor sit down and have a god old natter with child killers, rapists and mass murderers. Exactly why he did this wasn’t entirely made clear. The intense trip to the US captured the attention of 4.5 million viewers.
Over on Channel 4 architect George Clarke did his best Kevin McCloud impression, although the Geordie accent let him down slightly. The Restoration Man (9pm) continued to look at the builds that didn’t quite fit in to the Grand Designs remit with last night’s episode taking us to Northumberland. An audience share of 7% watched as a conversion of an old watermill fell neatly into George’s Reasonable Designs criteria.
The ladies were in for a treat too as the spud-faced architect got his hands dirty and worked up a right sweat, pulling in 1.7 million viewers. You wouldn’t see McCloud doing that.
It was the night before the eviction and the tension in the Celebrity Big Brother (9pm) house helped Channel 5 defeat Channel 4. The latest round of nonsense conversation and ego management secured 1.9 million viewers and helped 5 capture an 8% share.
Earlier on BBC One, the Barry family were continuing to wreak havoc in Waterloo Road (9pm). And you thought the demonisation of the working class was at its height in the last decade.
Little Dynasty Barry decided to put her text books, pritt stick and safety scissors on the side-line in order to get a boob job and secure a job as a pole dancer. 3.7 million viewers tuned in to see patriarch Carol Barry prime her daughter to continue the Barry line, netting a 15% share.
The intense and frosty coverage of Winterwatch (BBC Two, 8pm) may have proved fairly superfluous last night as the nation finally understood what it felt like to be a cold woodland creature attempting to survive the season’s harshest weather. The forest googling fun has performed reasonably well over the past four nights with the final edition capturing 2.6 million viewers and an 11% share.
At the same time over on Channel 4, Kirstie and Phil continued to ignore the fact that property market is in a seriously rough shape by bringing us another smiley edition of Location, Location, Location (8pm). Viewers seemed to like it though – the programme provided Channel 4 with its largest audience of the day. 2.3 million viewers watched as the platonic partners scrambled around Aberdeen to find the perfect family home, netting a 9.4% share.
Earlier on the day, a double helping of Emmerdale (7pm & 8pm) provided ITV with the highest audience share in its time slot, the only two points at which the commercial broadcaster managed to steal it away from BBC One all evening. Thursday evening brought a bout of grifting to the Woolpack as the Dingles attempted to infiltrate a dangerous drugs ring.
Sending in his daughter Debbie, Cain watched from the side-lines as she seduced a man to get some information. Somehow it is possible to seduce someone in the Woolpack. The story of quiet rural life brought in 7.2 million (a 32% share) at 7:30 with 6.5 million viewers returning an hour later resulting in a 28% share.
After waiting around for so long, like a wallflower at a party, EastEnders (BBC One, 7:30pm) was finally allowed it’s night in the limelight. Without greedy Coronation Street around to steal its thunder, the grim soap secured the day’s biggest audience despite the fact it revolved around 85 year old Dot Cotton preach about fire and brimstone.
8.1 million people watched as Dot tried in vain to save the soul of her ungodly granddaughter Lauren. Dot’s attempts at keeping the Square in good moral order (good luck with that) pulled in an audience share of 35%.
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.