TV Overnights: The X Factor wins Saturday night victory over the Daleks to become the universe’s biggest threat
The return of the Doctor, the intense Paralympic coverage and the wide appeal of Mrs Brown all helped net some of the weekend’s largest audiences.
Friday
Friday night saw BBC One consistently pull in the night’s biggest audiences, through the usual slice of Walford drama and a selection of broad comedy. After giving fans a bit of a break in recent weeks, EastEnders (8pm) returned, in full swing, to the seriously bothersome storyline of Kat’s secret lover. If you were Alfie Moon, you probably would spend your days in a state of comatose oblivion but there was no excuse for the gaps in logic being displayed on Friday.
6.2 million viewers watched as He Who Shall Not Be Seen scrawled ‘I Love You’ in lipstick on a bloody bandage (yes, really). The whole set up might be a giant red herring: viewers haven’t yet considered the possibility that Kat might actually (and most likely) be sleeping with the entire Queen Vic football team. The episode brought in a 28% audience share, brining in the biggest audience of the night.
All this led us into an entire night of ‘old-school’, award winning broad comedy. First up was a repeat of bumbling Miranda (8:30pm) who spent her time knocking things over and generally being really stupid. A healthy 4.6 million caught up third episode of the first series, grabbing a 19% share along the way.
In With the Flynns showed up at 9pm to make you even more depressed about being in on a Friday night. Will Mellor, an assured stamp of sitcom quality, stars as Working Class Dad facing financial issues and everyday problems with a humorous attitude (the theme song is tellingly titled ‘For Anyone’). The cookie cutter comedy was watched by 3 million viewers. This was followed by a repeat of divisive ‘classic’ Mrs. Brown’s Boys at 9:30pm, which brought the audience back up to 4.4 million viewers.
Over on ITV1, Emmerdale (7pm) nabbed the channel’s biggest audience early on in the evening. Ex Vicar, now full-time Man of Beard, Ashley, had the happy task and sitting his kids down and explaining that mummy had a new boyfriend. 5.6 million people tuned in to kick off their weekend in style, resulting in a 29% audience share.
This was followed by a one-off friendly between Europe’s top teams with UEFA Super Cup Live at 7:30pm. The game between Chelsea and Atletico Madrid kicked off 15 minutes later, with viewers peaking at 2.5 million, half an hour into the game. Chelsea’s 4-1 defeat was cemented early on with Falcao scoring the first goal six minutes after kick off. The entire programme was watched by 2 million viewers, with 205,000 of those watching the action on ITV1 HD.
Saturday
Saturday saw the highly anticipated return of the last Time Lord on BBC One. The hugely successful Doctor Who (7:15pm) returned for a seventh series (or thirty-third for those really paying attention) with Asylum of the Daleks. The episode featured current companions, Amy and Rory dealing with their relationship issues in the middle of an abandoned prison for really messed-up Daleks, including one that just wanted to be a pretty ballerina.
The episode also served as an extremely confusing introduction to soon-to-be new companion Jenna-Louise Coleman and pulled in 6.4 million viewers (slightly lower than the last season opener which got 6.5 million in April 2011).
Immediately after the Doctor saved the day, Red or Black sandwich filler The X Factor kicked off over on ITV1. The show reached levels of soapy manipulative tedium that Simon Cowell could only have dreamed of when it was launched 9 years ago. With the new format properly blurring the line between all the worst reality show genres available, viewers had an issue with the fact that the latest episode featured very little actual singing.
The show saw a slight fall in viewers (-2% week on week) but depressingly was still the country’s number one choice of the weekend. 696,000 viewers decided to watch the soul destroying fun in HD, with a total of 8 million viewers overall.
Over on Channel 4 Paralympic Games 2012 Tonight (7pm) showed the highlights of the day’s swimming, athletics and wheelchair basketball events. The three hour show secured 2.6 million viewers and a 12% share. Red or Black, the game show desperately calling out to be loved by the nation, was aired around The X Factor and featured ‘real’ people to care and worry about. The first part at 7:30 brought in 3.4 million viewers, with the nail-biting conclusion at 9:15pm securing 3.2 million viewers tuning in to find out the contestant’s fate.
Sunday
A surprisingly quiet Sunday evening kicked off with an hour long episode of Coronation Street at 7pm on ITV1. Ryan Connor’s dalliance as a bad boy continued with aplomb as he struggled with the irritating realisation that cocaine is just so moreish. Desperate for a fix, he packed his bags with his mind on leaving Weatherfield forever (good luck with that) but not before robbing the knicker factory. An average audience of 5.9 million viewers tuned in to see Uncle Rob catching Ryan in the act and giving him a hiding the nation has been waiting for, netting a 27% share.
The fifth series of Inspector George Gently continued on BBC One at 8:30pm and the aging law man was dealing with those trying upper class types. The second episode in the current run attracted the biggest audience of the day with 6 million viewers (a 25% share) tuning in.
Psycho nut-job thriller The Last Weekend rolled to its inevitably messy conclusion at 9pm on ITV1. The show, featuring a cast of truly unlikable university friends, started off with 3 million viewers. The third and final episode was watched by 2 million (-37%), in the hope that no one would make it out alive.
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.