TV Overnights: Mr Selfridge back on top but Call the Midwife proves Sunday’s biggest hit

The soaps predictably took hold of Friday night, Splash! once again attracted a surprising amount of sensible people and the struggle for the ultimate Sunday period drama got a lot more intense.

Friday

Emmerdale got the boulder of high drama rolling on Friday evening with a solo visit to Dales. 7.3 million viewers tuned watched as village simpleton David was somehow mentally puppeteered into proposing to overeager distraction Priya, netting a 33% share.

An hour later on BBC One, the cheeky chappies of Walford attempted to meet all your entertainment needs. Friday saw Tanya finally turn to alcohol in an effort to deal with her exhausting life. Mind you, hanging out with your 67 year old mother in a night club two metres from your front door mightn’t equate an a great night out but it’s as good as it gets on EastEnders (8pm).

7.8 million people tuned in to see Tanya throw yet another wobbly, just to end the week on a consistent note, dispensing all of Max’s clothes on a group of drunk teenagers. The final trip to Walford of the week still the highest share back off ITV with 32%.

Over in Weatherfield, Tyrone’s week wasn’t getting any better as he spent the night locked up behind bars. You’d think a ruining your fake wedding would be enough drama for any given week but after Kirsty’s tumble down the stairs the old bill came knocking.

Friday’s visit to Coronation Street reminded viewers of a simpler time in British drama, when the detention of one Deirdre Barlow whipped the nation into a storm of protest. The Prime Minister has yet to comment on Tyrone Dobbs’ situation but we believe a comment will be forthcoming.

The first episode at 7:30pm pulled in Friday’s (and the weekend’s) biggest audience of 8.8 million viewers and a 38% share. An hour later saw the audience fall slightly as 8 million viewers grew uncomfortable as they watched Lloyd and his fully grown new-found daughter act all chummy while curled up on the couch together. The second visit netted a 33% share.

ITV’s trinity of soap action was the time in the night that the commercial broadcaster secured the highest share, half an hour each time. From 9pm onwards BBC One held onto the biggest crowd.

Silent Witness (BBC One, 9pm) went head to head with a mixture of dead-eyed celebrities and brain-dead caricatures in the battle for the prime time crown. Friday night saw Dr Nikki snuffle her way through more corpses in an attempt to locate those oh-so modern and vital clues.

5.8 million viewers watched as the usual array of semen samples, blood splatter and all that other forensic magic were put through the industrial washing machine for rigorous testing. The procedural show easily secured the highest share for the time slot, with a 24% share.

The final penance of Celebrity Big Brother (until next week, probably) saw viewers skyrocket by an amazing third as amazing turd Rylan walked out of the compound as the ultimate victor. The squalling incoherent talent pulled in an audience of 3 million viewers and a 14% share, hopefully signalling the fact that reality TV has just imploded on itself.

Meanwhile on ITV there was a moment of celebration as Great Night Out finally reached the half-way point in its excruciating six episode run. 2.5 million people dedicated themselves for an entire hour of undemanding and upbeat easy style of humour (man like beer etc.), resulting in a 10% share.

Saturday

Despite Channel 4 offering up plenty of quality late night drama (World Without End and The Hurt Locker – 871,000 and 699,000 viewers respectively) it was Mrs Euphegenia Doubtfire that won the channel’s biggest audience of the day.

1.4 million viewers caught up with the 1993 family comedy which focuses on an estranged and mentally unhinged father infiltrating his family’s security and emotionally upsetting his children via a bout of psychologically-scarring cross dressing. Mrs Doubtfire (6:40pm) resulted in Channel 4’s biggest hit of the day.

Perhaps the celebration is officially over…we’ve all come to appreciate Clare Balding and her near national treasure status after the Paralympics but Saturday saw the audience for her latest vehicle plummet as Britain’s Brightest (BBC One, 6:45pm) entered the series’ second half.

Initially audiences of 5 million viewers joined Clare on her quest to find the country’s most cranially engorged contestant. This weekend, viewers fell to 2.8 million and a 17% share.

It’s not as if ITV’s rival show was stealing all the viewers – Splash! (ITV, 7pm) (a show that can actually make you more stupid the longer you watch) witnessed a drop in popularity too. Are people actually going outside again?

The show, a cynical launch pad for Brand Tom Daley was simply created to distract the nation from their worries for a little while on a Saturday. If they can sell another truck load of those slightly dodgy Tom Daley calendars, then all the better. A slightly lower than usual 4.8 million viewers watched as celebrities who couldn’t bag a better gig dived it out for a place in the coveted semi-final, resulting in a 21% share – the highest in its time slot.

This was followed by Take Me Out (ITV, 8:30pm) the show that, due to its relative cheapness, will never ever leave our screens. 3.9 million viewers watched as Paddy McGuiness rounded up another truckload of shot-swilling, loud mouthed ladies who were gently glowing with a quaint radioactive orange vibe. The Saturday night out, without all the time wasting, secured a 17% share.

Which meant that the bout of ladette window shopping was overshadowed by Saturday night mainstay Casualty (BBC One, 8:50pm). The weekend visit to Holby saw Nick Jordan act all moody and lost as he buried an old friend. 5.1 million viewers watched as an unrealistic series of events brought everyone involved in PC Yvonne’s murder conveniently back into the same room.

A audience share of 22% not only meant that the show picked up the largest audience for its time slot but the biggest audience of the day.

Sunday

The call of Dancing on Ice (ITV, 6:15pm) jolted Sunday’s viewers awake after a fairly tepid weekend. 6.8 million viewers watched the fourth episode as the contestants attempted to ward off any below freezing drafts. An audience share of 28% watched as two UK TV legends, Keith Chegwin and Anthea Turner, had to out disco each other in order to escape the chop.

Even the mystifying popularity of Call the Midwife (BBC One, 8pm) couldn’t steal the thunder away from Friday’s Coronation Street. The second episode of the second series saw thing fall apart for midwife Cynthia after the unexplained death of a new born. The dark story saw viewers fall to 8.7 million, down 600,000 viewers week on week. Despite this slight drop, the Poplar period drama secured the highest share from ITV (30%).

Dancing in Ice: The Skate Off (ITV, 8:30pm) just couldn’t compete with BBC One’s eagerly awaited drama. Anthea Turner’s exit brought in 4.9 million viewers and a 29% share.

Mr Selfridge must have done something to offend the viewing elite. The retail period drama was carving out a routine Sunday night success in its initial few weeks but the weight of Call the Midwife had enough gravity to sway viewers to rival Ripper Street (BBC One, 9pm), which broadcast straight afterwards. Last night the ITV drama won just enough veiwers back from the BBC to retain the crown.

5.4 million viewers watched as Harry Selfridge became entangled with a Russian ballerina, locking 22% of the available audience.

Meanwhile, BBC One offered up the fifth episode of Victorian crime drama, Ripper Street. Last night Detective Reid had to contend with a series of raids around London. The well received police procedural attracted 5.2 million viewers and a 21% share, just falling short of the rival ITV show.

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.