TV Overnights: Scott & Bailey wins 9pm slot for ITV1

Coronation Street once again ruled over last night’s TV schedule with each instalment pulling in 8.3 million viewers, and not a serial killer in sight. The UK’s audience was enthralled with Monday’s developments in Audrey Roberts’s love life. The 7:30pm and 8:30pm episodes scored an audience share of 36% and 36% respectively as Audrey desperately struggled to open up a cash flow to fund her erotic around-the-world pleasure cruise.

Sandwiched between Corrie over on BBC One was EastEnders at 8pm, and the fun times continued in the Mitchell household. 7.8 million viewers watched Shirley wither about, still mourning the loss of Heather and looking like Worzel Gummidge at a low point. The episode saw Shirley go out of her way to avoid the spawn of Kathy Beale and Phil Mitchell and netted a 34% share of the audience.

Over on BBC One at 9pm Jeremy Paxman wrapped up his examination of Britain’s colonial past, with the final episode of Empire looking specifically at Africa and the ramifications on the continent’s future. An average audience of 2.4 million people (a 10% audience share) watched the last episode, down from the 4 million people that tuned in for the series debut in February.

It was also the end of the line for the TFL propaganda hour known as The Tube (BBC Two, 9pm). The documentary show bowed out with 182,000 more viewers than its first episode six weeks ago. Just under two million viewers tuned in to catch the hardworking maintenance staff pick lint and fibre from the tracks while London slept, resulting in an 8.2 audience share.

Over on ITV1, it was more the like The Bailey Hour in Scott & Bailey (9pm). Wiith Scott MIA, Suranne Jones held the solo Serious Face duties, helping to secure 5.8 million viewers. The episode pulled in an audience share of 24% as Bailey left Manchester on her own to look into an old case and square off against a serial killer she helped put behind bars.

Official medical practitioners Drs. Christian, Dawn, Pixie and their magical TARDIS appeared in Skegness, Lincolnshire to talk wrinkly bottoms and bowel conditions. Embarrassing Bodies pulled in 10% of the audience for Channel 4, with 2.4m people watching Dr. Christian ask a team of BMX bikers to produce some sperm samples.

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.