TV Overnights: Self-medication and baking secures a strong night for the BBC
The 8pm battleground heated up last night as both terrestrial BBC channels knocked out the competition in one clean swipe.
Without Coronation Street or a run-of-the-mill police procedural on hand, the schedulers at ITV1 panicked and fired 2008’s Mamma Mia up on to our screens. The high energy film saw Meryl Streep throw herself about the place with reckless abandon, belting out the ABBA tunes with deluded gusto.
The rest of the cast, including Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth, didn’t let a little thing like shame get in the way, so why should she? 2.3 million people tuned in for the all-singing, all-dancing jazz hands spectacular, securing 21% of the available audience.
Over on Channel 4 Sarah Beeny encouraged cash-strapped families to knock down walls and expand in to the loft, in the latest episode of Double Your House for Half The Money (8pm). Sarah’s latest bout of sledge hammering action pulled in 1.4 million viewers (a 6% share), resulting in the channel’s biggest audience of the day.
BBC Two brought us the penultimate episode of The Great British Bake Off as Brendan, Danny, James and John all prepared for a fight to the death, via the gentile medium of patisserie baking. The nerve-wracking semi-final was upon us and Mary Berry was not holding back.
The contestant’s moods veered widely from spirited to completely dead on the inside, as they dealt with seriously stressful challenges from the dark mind of Mary Berry. The audience self-raised by half a million viewers week on week, with a total of 5 million (a 21% share) tuning in for the shock exit.
Holby City, the UK’s most hazardous hospital, opened its doors for another hour of extreme unprofessionalism and high emotions. Senior Nurse Eddi’s day got a little more complicated as she was cut off from her moreish medication Camoxidan. 5 million viewers watched as Eddi struggled to deal with the pressure without her self-prescription, resulting in the biggest audience in that timeslot.
Lady period drama The Paradise continued on BBC One at 9pm, featuring a whole wealth of ye olde time glamour and female issues. The department store was thrown into a PR whirlwind as a new born child was discovered among the corsets and smelly things.
Naturally, the dastardly male character decided to use the discovery to the store’s advantage and took the opportunity to stir up marketing opportunities. The third episode of the series secured 4.9 million viewers and a 22% share, down just over half a million viewers since its debut.
10pm saw the return of everyone’s favourite pupil-dilated student house share. After a surprisingly successful first run, Fresh Meat was back for a second semester and there was very little personal development to be seen.
Vod was still on her strict diet of class A to C drugs and JP was horrified that he might be gay by association when an Old Stoic mate came out. The mildew infested comedy only attracted 893,000 viewers (a 5% share) but kids these days are probably watching on their pads, phones, fridges and what not.
By a long shot, EastEnders (BBC One, 8pm) was the most successful show of the day. It was the day of Abi Branning’s 16th birthday party and there was some tension in the household. Naturally, as it tends to go in Walford, it wasn’t long before there were some harsh words between adults and little Dennis was convinced Sharon murdered his Dad. 7.6 million people tuned in for the latest hit of domestic misery, securing a 35% 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.