TV Overnights: Nigel’s genealogical journey for common roots nets 5m for BBC One
Just one night after BBC One celebrated the return of sure-fire hit New Tricks, Wednesday also brought the continuation of the tenth series of another guaranteed ratings draw.
The main selling point of Who Do You Think You Are? is its ability to attract sometimes deserving, but usually famous people, to rummage through their families’ bleak skeletons, often resulting in tears when the contributors realise that ye olden days weren’t totally fabulous.
Last night it was the turn of famous face Nigel Havers, who appeared as if he’d been prepping his reactions to tragic news for quite some time now.
A run of the mill (there’s always a work Mill involved at some point) and a rather pedestrian episode to open the tenth series of the show, the most tragic thing to happen was the actor finding out his distant relatives had in fact passed away at some point.
5 million viewers tuned in to see Nigel squeal in delight to find out that his great great grandfather was a commoner (in Nigel’s eyes only – Gramps was loaded), resulting in a 23% share.
Over on Channel 4, viewers were offered a chance to catch up on a commissioner’s dream – a show that keeps on giving. Sometimes it seems that 24 Hours in A&E writes itself as the guest characters keep pumping out at an alarming rate. The writers do such a marvellous job on coming up with inane ways in which people hurt themselves each week, sometimes it’s hard to keep up.
If there is a lesson to be learned somewhere between all the bloody bandages and guttural screaming, it’s that it’s probably not safe to leave your bed in the morning. A consistent 1.9 million viewers caught up with the disorientating mixture of well observed comedy and the disturbing deaths. The latest trip around the wards of the accident prone TV ready cast secured a 9% share.
At the same time, ITV offered up another documentary in the thrilling genre of watching people doing their jobs in Neighbourhood Force (ITV, 9pm). The glamorous locales of Birmingham and London’s Enfield was where the anti-social behaviour officers walked their beats, dealing with all kind of damaged characters in glum situations. The Hills, it most definitely wasn’t.
2.3 million viewers signed up for the first of two exciting tours of duty, with 230,000 of those choosing to take in the atmosphere in glorious HD. The show pulled in a decent share of 11%.
Big Brother was pushed down (or promoted, maybe) to the 9pm slot on Channel 5 but this change didn’t make any impact on the audience, with 1.4 million viewers catching up with the latest from the house.
The return of Celebrity Masterchef (BBC One) dominated the 8pm slot as 16 famous faces stepped up to the (hot) plate to gain a little more exposure. 4.7 million people watched as Janet Street-Porter overshadowed her competitors through her vocal abilities alone. The first hour of 18 attracted 4.7 million viewers, translating to a 22%share.
The latest craziness in Emmerdale (ITV, 7pm) helped the soap pull in the second biggest audience of the day as Nikhil struggled to grieve for his dead wife. 6.4 million viewers (a 34% share) watched as Debbie Dingle showed some signs of humanity as the guilt of being an accomplice to her mate’s murder began to chip away at her soul.
But it was the slow-motion implosion of the Platt family (yes, the unfortunate clan’s epic issues continue) on Coronation Street (ITV, 7:30pm) that was Wednesday’s biggest hit. Sitting down for a large family meal can sometimes be bad enough, but when one family member is actively launching secret psychological warfare and covertly pulling everyone’s strings you know it’ll be an interesting night at No. 8.
7.3 million people watched as David Platt’s diner from hell unfolded, securing an audience of 7.3 million viewers and a 37% 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.