TV Overnights: Scott & Bailey and Silent Witness both slaughter 1.4m viewers
Monday’s double helping of Coronation Street once again proved a rating smash for ITV1, with the episodes grabbing the two top spots for last night. The first episode at 7:30pm was watched by 8.6 million viewers, resulting in a 37% audience share. The later slab of everyday domestic drama (8:30pm) didn’t fare so well but still secured 8.3 million viewers.
Earlier on the same channel in Emmerdale (7pm), Aaron’s confused loyalty for his BFF reached idiotic heights as he took the rap for the fire Adam started. A 33% audience share (6.7 million viewers) tuned in to see Aaron struggle with the concept that it is never going to happen. Then again, this is soap world.
In EastEnders (BBC One, 8pm) Ian Beale continued his psychologically questionable quest for happiness, as if 67 failed marriages aren’t enough of a deterrent for any man. Just like The Terminator, he cannot be stopped or reasoned with. Mandy decided to leave the Square after identifying the relentless pattern of tragedy that tends to strikes those that hang around long enough. Instead of packing up and escaping his horrible life, Ian decided to propose one more time. At a bus stop. The classic heart-warming scene was watched by 8 million viewers, BBC One’s biggest audience of the day.
Things were an awful lot more lovely over on BBC Two at 8:30pm with The Little Paris Kitchen: Cooking With Rachel Khoo picking up 1.3 million viewers. The Croydon-raised pastry chef, whose transformation into Amélie is almost complete, spent the episode talking cheese and Cassoulet, pulling in a 5.5% audience share.
Silent Witness (BBC One, 9pm) has only been back on our screen for one episode and it’s already becoming as omnipresent as Coronation Street. In the concluding episode of the opening two-parter, Drs. Harry and Nikki surgically pieced together loose plots strands and chemically disposed of all sense of logic in a very serious fashion. 5.3 million viewers tuned in last night, that’s 1.4 million less viewers than the opening episode on Sunday night.
Over on ITV1 Scott & Bailey were knee deep in an investigation in which they tried to solve the case of the missing 1.4 million viewers. In a mystery that sprawled the two major channels, both detective shows witnessed a loss of the same amount of viewers, episode to episode. While Silent Witness did steal some thunder from the Manchester duo, Scott & Bailey still managed to engage 4.4 million viewers, as Bailey had to deal with a missing child as well as an absolute nightmare of a younger brother.
Sky Atlantic launched another highly promoted new series, after last week’s series five premiere of Mad Men. Last night the highly anticipated second series of Game of Thrones (9pm) finally arrived on UK screens, helping fan boys get their fix of dragons, war and frequent nudity. It remains to be seen if the critically acclaimed series can really cross over into main stream success. The episode did pull in 522,000 viewers, much stronger than Mad Men’s return last Tuesday (an average audience of 98,000).
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.