TV Overnights: Victoria’s tea is no match for Tottenham’s defeat
Thursday night saw Victoria Wood’s epic globe-trotting quest (to ramble on about tea in expensive locations) come to an end.
Tightening the budget slightly, the second night of the frivolous odyssey saw the comedy stalwart stick closer to home, swapping the stunning tea fields of Sri Lanka for Yorkshire.
The second serving of Victoria Wood’s Nice Cup of Tea (BBC One, 9pm) threw in a few familiar faces thrown in to add a little Masala chai to the proceedings (although, at least two of these may have been contractually obliged by the good corporation). An audience share of 14% watched as Victoria sat down with the 11th Doctor Matt Smith and later Graham Norton to talk about – you’ve guessed it – all things tea.
The presence of perma-grump Manc princess Morrissey may have been responsible for the night on night fall of 72,000 viewers but, maybe, he can’t be blamed for everything. A total audience of 3.2 million viewers caught up with the thrilling conclusion of the comedian’s accumulation of air miles which wasn’t enough to win the time slot.
That victory fell to ITV who aired the latest Live UEFA Europa League Football (7:45pm)match. The latest quarter-final second-leg game, beamed directly from St. Jakob-Park in Basel, saw FC Basel face off against away team Tottenham Hotspur in what turned out to be a match of epic length.
An average audience of 3.6 million viewers stayed tuned for the three hour running time, with the clash heading into extra time. Presenter Matt Smith (no, not the Doctor) worked for his money as the game being decided on penalties. The audience peaked in the wee hours of the night, with 4.8 million people tuning in to see FB Basel beat André Villas-Boas’ boys at 10:30pm.
Earlier, the ever popular MasterChef (BBC One, 8pm) secured its usually impressive audience of 4.8 million viewers, without even really trying. An audience share of 21% watched the latest hopefuls sweat, bleed and cry in front of moon-faced chefs Gregg and John, in a desperate attempt to escape their current lives.
Over on BBC Two there was a painfully cringy, yet ultimately harmless hour of James May’s Man Lab (8pm). Last night, James took up such masculine tasks as worrying about how to feed a large group of hot cross bun fans and fashioning a jacket into a bed. Because this is what men do, apparently? 1.2 million viewers survived the hour of children’ programming for adults, netting a 5% share.
Earlier on in soap world, Sharon and Jack’s wedding was on the horizon in EastEnders (BBC One, 8pm), so you just knew the drama would be a bit harder to take than usual. The omens should have been clear when the pill-popping Walford hang about, Sharon, arranged all the outfits in the theme of a goth funeral.
The writing was definitely on the wall as Sharon even managed to crack a smile or two, despite her thoroughly miserable existence to date. A lower than usual 6.2 million viewers watched as Sharon’s day was promptly ruined as fiancé Jack dumped her at the altar (which is pretty much standard practice in E14).
Not only did Sharon have a lot on her plate, but the soap itself had to contend with overlapping with 15 minutes of Emmerdale (ITV, 6:45pm) and the football.
To counteract the lure of an East End wedding, ITV stapled two episodes of the rural soap together to give viewers a feature length experience. The plan seemed to have worked as the more casual EastEnders fans jumped ship. The hour-long visit to Emmerdale attracted 6 million viewers and a 28% 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.