TV Overnights: EastEnders’ brief spell of sunshine bags 6.4m for BBC One
For the second evening in a row, viewers were spoiled with another serving of post-feminist flag waving with Scott & Bailey (ITV, 9pm) as, for once, personal issues were put on the back burner in favour of some solid police work.
Thursday night brought the final episode in the current run of the popular crime drama as the warring partners had to put their many differences aside to save their lady boss.
5 million viewers tuned in to see her off Spooks kidnap DCI Gill Murray and force her to go for a long drive off a short suicide spot.
Aside from the actual criminals the duo are sometimes tasked to deal with, their biggest enemy has always been their own demons and interpersonal issues. Saying that, there has never been a shortage of bumbling token male characters to circumnavigate and tolerate.
The refreshing take on the crime procedural was down 800,000 viewers compared with the series three opener eight weeks ago but still managed to secure the 9pm slot with a 22% share.
Over on BBC One, there were more serious issues to deal with as a presenter of A Place in the Sun – Home or Away attempted to get the country’s raging hoarding problem under control.
The third – and sadly final – episode of Britain’s Biggest Hoarders (9pm) saw Jasmine Harman’s healing odyssey come to an end after curing six seemingly lost causes. 2.9 million viewers watched as Jasmine waved her fairy wand around squalors in London and Northamptonshire, merging the makeover show with a sprinkle of Dr Phil.
The final gruelling week brought in a 13% share, with each viewer now safe in the knowledge that the epidemic is finally under control.
If you like your prime time viewing options dosed with a heavy sense of disheartening realism then last night Channel 4 was the place for you. Shot over three years, The Hunt for Britain’s Sex Gangs (9pm) detailed the frustration, hope and ultimate triumph of Operation Chalice – a police operation dealing with crimes against young girls in Telford.
1.1 million viewers joined the police on their pursuit, resulting in a 5% share.
At 8:30pm Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs (ITV) bared its teeth and frightened off the competition, easily beating the second half of Waterloo Road (BBC One, 8pm). O’Grady’s latest guttural growl brought in an impressive 4.7 million viewers, while the BBC drama about the country’s worst ever school was watched by only 2.9 million viewers.
There was a double helping of Emmerdale starting at 7pm on ITV, as silly Cameron was up to more pre-watershed nastiness. 6.4 million viewers caught up with the village rogue as he tried to transfer his old mate’s remains from one shallow grave to another. An hour later 5.9 million watched as a little problem got in the way of his plans – a giant tree.
The scenes of Cameron smashing his van into the ash tree helped the soap pull in the second and third biggest audiences of the day.
In between the rural soap, BBC One brought us a rare moment of cheerfulness in EastEnders (7:30pm) as Lola was reunited with the wee baby Lexi after Phil Mitchell had an uncharacteristic, yet predictable, change of heart.
6.4 million watched Lola transform into a peroxide version of a Tiny Tears doll, displaying an impressive knack for producing perfectly formed streaming tears on command (which is basically whenever the cameras on her).
Perhaps it was the fact she got her baby back, or possibly it was because Billy Mitchell seemed to have his hand on her in every scene – whatever reason, Lola’s marathon performance helped fend off the increasingly popular Emmerdale.
Viewers should know by now that joyful scenes will always result in some horrifying future occurrence, as to keep the happiness/misery ratio in Walford’s gloomy default preference. The rare upbeat moments helped EastEnders become Thursday’s most watched programme.
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.