TV Overnights: EastEnders on top for third consecutive night

EastEnders secured the biggest audience for BBC One on Thursday – the third night in a row. 8.6 million viewers tuned in to see the news of Heather’s murder spread through the Square, with Ben been brought in for questioning by the the Old Bill. The E20-set drama, which aired at 7:30pm, battled it out amongst the plethora of rival soaps to attract an audience share of 34%.

Earlier in the night over on ITV1 the first in a double helping of Emmerdale (7pm) saw Adam go slightly mental, attacking Cain and setting his garage on fire. 6.9 million viewers watched as Adam headed off into the night, leaving Cain locked inside.

With the centenary of the Titanic sinking nearly upon us, the coming weeks see the schedules filling up with an onslaught of themed programmes. Last night Channel 5 aired Inside the Titanic (8pm), a docu-drama that steered clear of any romantic issues and instead chose to focus on the struggles of those below decks. The show, based on records from the official inquiry, attracted Channel 5’s largest audience of the day with 1.4 million viewers.

Meanwhile, on ITV1, the second episode of Emmerdale (8pm) built upon its earlier audience with a further 324,000 viewers tuning in. An average audience of 7.3 million people watched as the realisation dawned on Adam that a temper tantrum, petrol and a blowtorch are a nasty combination. The episode, which saw Adam’s conscience ultimately catching up with him, had an audience share of 32%.

Coronation Street followed at 8:30pm as with the news of Frank’s killer spread throughout the Street. Events turned slightly more upbeat as Amber experienced a serious lapse in judgement and decided to throw a party in her parent’s home. While they dined less than 20 metres away. 8 million people tuned in to see the things get out of hand.

After the impressive Sport Relief swimming effort by David Walliams late last year, it was John Bishop’s turn to step up to the challenge. Not to be outdone by other celebrity’s desperation for prime time exposure John Bishop’s Sport Relief Hell (BBC One, 9pm) saw the Liverpudlian comedian put himself through a number of gruelling challenges all in the name of charity. 5.2 million people watched at the funny man cycle, row and run around the continent, resulting an 23% audience 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.