TV Overnights: Strictly stays strong, narrowly beats the might of I’m a Celebrity
The weekend saw yet another insanely popular reality show enter the fray, while another struggled and Coronation Street‘s latest drama cementing its popularity in the soap world.
Friday
Remember Kat’s secret lover? Yeah, apparently that’s still all happening. The latest unlikely situation in EastEnders (BBC One, 8pm) saw the three Branning brothers playing a game of poker in The Vic’s private quarters, while Kat and her husband had a romantic meal in the B&B.
When Kat returned home she was reunited with a sentimental piece of jewellery she had hesitantly pawned off, all thanks to the mystery lover. Which of the dashing Branning brothers has managed to tame the wild beast’s heart after all these months? Do you really care? Will this actually be stretched out to Christmas?
Only time will tell if future generations look back and hold this brave plotline in the same regard as Kathy’s rape, Michelle’s teenage pregnancy, Dot’s dabble with euthanasia or Mark’s battle with HIV related stigma. As it is, a lower than usual 6.8 million viewers tuned in to see the damp plotline flogged within an inch of its already ephemeral existence, resulting in a 30% share.
As usual, it was Coronation Street (ITV1) that locked in the largest number of gawping eyes on Friday night. Maria’s psychological assault on her seriously confused gay best mate, Marcus, continued. The aftermath of their intense horizontal wrestling saw Maria end it with Jason, while Marcus called it a day with Aiden. Weatherfield’s most unlikely pairing are now officially single and guilt free but can these two crazy kids make a go of it?
The first slice of betrayal at 7:30pm pulled in Friday’s biggest audience with 8.2 million viewers (a massive 38% share) tuning in. The 8:30pm visit lost under a million viewers but still managed an extremely healthy 7.4 million for ITV 1, resulting in a 32% share.
When Glen, one of the many long-suffering characters on The Walking Dead (FX, 10pm), looked in to the distance and asked “can’t we just have one good day?” you knew the sadistic writers had something particularly awful up their sleeves.
Four episodes in and all memories of the slow burning second series were well and truly banished. Friday’s events were particularly shocking and emotionally relentless, as a number of main characters met a gruesome end.
Let’s just say that little Carl has been though some extremely traumatic situations in his short life but this will definitely lead to some serious personality issues. The current series has broken all kinds of cable records in the US but was watched by only 393,000 viewers, with another 33,000 tuning in an hour later on FX+.
Four years ago the creators of South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, aired an episode dealing with Obama’s election only one day after his victory was announced. Such a quick creative turn around garnered the pair plaudits from fans and Friday night saw them at it again. Originally aired in the US last Wednesday, the latest episode saw Cartman confess to Kyle that he stole a large number of ballots from those troublesome swing states.
This being the particular South Park (Comedy Central, 10pm) brand of satire, Cartman’s actions and the presidential race all boiled down to one important issue – the rights to the Star Wars franchise. The episode brought the wrath of the Chinese and culminated with a very angry Mickey Mouse landing in the small mountain town in Slave I. 64,000 viewers tuned in to catch up on the latest world events, resulting in a minuscule 0.3% share.
Saturday
Before Saturday descended in to the typical mix of karaoke, tears and sequins the Irish and South African rugby teams were on hand to dispense a sense of much needed masculinity to the schedules. Gabby Logan talked us through some pre-match hype before the action kicked off at 5:30pm, live from Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
Rugby Union: Ireland v South Africa (ITV1, 5pm) saw the Springboks crawl back in the later half, despite 60% possession from the Irish team. 1.4 million viewers (a 7% share) tuned in for the entire game, which resulted in a 12-16 win for South Africa.
Later on in the evening Strictly Come Dancing (BBC One, 6:30pm) saw Bruce Forsyth melt in to a puddle and reform as squinty compere Claudia Winkleman. For one week only the well-connected jack of all trades filled in on Brucie duties as the remaining desperadoes wiggled about for public approval. A whopping 10.4 million viewers (a mind boggling 43% share) watched as Kimberly and Fern fell into the danger zone. Despite Bruce’s disappearance the episode pulled in the series biggest audience so far.
Still lagging behind in popularity was The X Factor on ITV1 at 8pm. The producers really mixed things up, with this week’s target being nationalistic sentimentality as the hopefuls paid tribute to fallen heroes by singing vaguely British songs. The laziest two hours of weekly television attracted 8 million viewers and a 33% share.
Sunday
Professional owner of super white teeth, Prime minister-interrogator and paedogeddon instigator Holly Willoughby brought us another taste of emotional redemption with Surprise, Surprise on ITV1 at 7pm. The omnipresent face of everything helped Bradley Walsh plug= crap ITV1 quiz show The Chase by pretending some sickly lad was a huge fan of it (too far fetched). 4 million viewers tuned in for the conveniently portioned feel good fun, full of empty calories.
The exact same amount of viewers came back for Strictly Come Dancing on Sunday as Fern Britton was shown the stage exit door. Her scantily clad partner could only help her get so far and 10.4 million viewers (a 40% share) watched as the eager personality joined the dole queue (well at least until the spin off tour).
The X Factor Results actually improved on Saturday’s marathon of excess with 8.8 million people tuning in to see some generic boy band with ridiculous haircuts sent on their way. The latest round of dramatizing a phone result, to within an inch of its life, secured a 33% share.
Have you been missing ITV1’s hugely successful Sunday night foray in to quality period drama, that was Downton Abbey? Well then you’re bang out of luck- the finite details, the enviably handling of a large cast of characters, the nuanced interplay, the collective nostalgic longings of a nation…all gone.
In its place were the benign faces of Ant and Dec. 8pm saw the twelfth series of I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here, the self-perpetuating monster that keeps magazines in print and advertising on the air. The thinly veiled show is a master class in spinning headlines out of air and PR for the undeserving. The premise remains the same – throw ten available and vaguely recognisable people into a sterile set in a park…and wait for the magic to happen.
Last night we saw two soap exile totties, a few sports personalities, a bloody Time Lord (the Doctor you don’t remember) and a former Pussycat Doll (don’t get too excited- there has been fifteen of them).
This series will stretch over an unprecedented 23 days, so you’d hope they’ve backed plenty of slap. The format has constantly delivered the goods for ITV1, a form of Big Brother that does away with the original social pretensions. The opening episode saw a whopping 10.3 million viewers tune in, putting it neck and neck with the first episode from the last series, with last night’s action netting a 41% share.
Up against the jungle hijinks was the final slice of Andrew Marr’s History of the World (BBC One, 9pm), all wrapped up neatly in eight episodes. The BBC’s revered resident and expert on pretty much everything guided us through the entire history of civilisation, making it look easy.
Last night we landed at the dawn of the 20th century, a place where technology presented unlimited possibilities but is held back by our continuing feuding. Helping the week end on a slightly more sombre note, the final episode pulled in 3.4 million viewers and a 13% 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.