TV Overnights: Wallander’s return grabs 5.2m for BBC One
As usual Friday night was dominated by the soaps, although they weren’t contained to one day this weekend. There was no shortage of detective dramas on offer either…
Friday
It all kicked off on Friday night with EastEnders (BBC One, 8pm). One particular Albert Square resident had an itch that just couldn’t be scratched. If there had been a particle of self-respect remaining somewhere on Kat Moon’s person there wasn’t a chance it survived Friday night’s horror. Gate crashing a party you weren’t invited to is one thing, disrupting an Xbox session with desperate drunken dancing is quite another.
Kat couldn’t pass up the chance for more painfully obvious flirting with her secret lover so it was fairly convenient that all the suspects (or ‘victims’ would equally fit) all gathered together in one room. 6.4 million viewers and a 32% share (BBC One’s biggest audience of the weekend) tuned in to see who, if any, would make it out alive.
Meanwhile over on ITV1, that Peter Barlow fella caused more misery for all those around him. Another night on the tiles, a distressed voicemail and a body being found in the canal all amounted to a lot of worry for the Barlow’s. The episode pulled in 7.6 million viewers (a 38% share) as Ken and Leanne attempted to positively identify the body.
Unusually, the second episode of Coronation Street (8:30pm) netted slightly more viewers than the first (up 5,000), while also winning the highest amount of viewers all weekend. 7.6 million people watched in disappointment as it was confirmed that the body was not Peter’s and tragically was far too large to be Simon’s (despite the water bloating the corpse). Although more people were watching for the second round the episode pulled in a smaller audience share of 35%.
BBC One’s 9pm offering was repeat of New Tricks from last year’s series eight. The episode won an audience of 3.2 million, which saw one of the old dogs meet up with an old flame while investigating a murder. ITV1 counterpointed the crusty detective drama with the second part of last week’s Case Sensitive (9pm), with detectives Charlie and Simon beating their BBC rival with 3.6 million viewers.
Saturday
Saturday offered a fresh array of programming, without a soap or a unorthodox crime solver in sight. Washing all memories of the recent fourth film from our damaged psyche was solid family fare in the shape of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (BBC One, 6:30pm). The second film in the huge franchise attracted an audience of 4.3 million and a 25% share.
Up against the famous whip and wisecracks was edgy teen drama Twilight (Channel 4, 6:40pm) which focused on a group of whingey goths in Washington State. Romance blossomed between a very emotional young girl and a boy who wears more make-up than her (he’s even partial to a sprinkle of glitter). The broody retelling of Romeo and Juliet, attracted 851,000 viewers despite managing to conjure up the excitement of a giant, wet blanket.
Over on ITV1 Andrew Lloyd Webber’s search for the new Jesus Christ continued quietly. His apostles, Jason Donovan and Mel C, were by his side, washing his feet as he narrowed his search down to 30 hopefuls. Saturday’s Superstar (8pm) saw Andrew (to his friends) invite the final 30 back to his villa in Majorca to impress him with their solo performances. Which seems extremely unprofessional. 2.9 million viewers tuned in to see robed men try to beat each other to become the next leader of the Catholic Church. Or something.
Episode 40 of Casualty’s 26th series pulled in the biggest audience of the day with 4.4 million (a 21% share) catching up with the accident prone drama.
ITV1 rounded of the day with some quality and time-filling programming. The Nation’s Favourite Number 1 Single basically saw Fearne Cotton guiding us through five ‘AWWESOME‘ hours of music videos, in an effort to reveal the nations’ favourite number one single. The second part of the countdown, which threw us in at number 40 had 2.5 million viewers perched on the edges of their seats on Saturday evening. Would it be Yazz’s The Only Way is Up or that Florence + the Machine song that advertisers love? The count down, as compiled by ‘industry experts,’ attracted a 12.5% audience share.
Sunday
Coronation Street launched a stealth attack on unsuspecting viewers at 7:30pm on ITV1. The surprise Sunday episode saw a very much alive Peter and Simon holding up in a dodgy hotel, while keeping the fuzz off their scent. 6.3 million viewers caught up with the action, which in an attempt to lighten the mood, also featured Kirsty beating up Tyrone on an emotional level. Again.
ITV1’s Sunday evening went much better than the night before. It was easy to get slightly confused as the programming was practically a mirror image of Saturday night’s; although there were a few more people watching this time around.
Mr. Lloyd Webber whittled his men down to ten finalists in Superstar for the 1.5 hour Sunday edition. And this time Dawn French was on hand to help Jason and Sporty Spice with their hefty judging responsibilities. 3 million captivated viewers tuned in to see who will become the all new singing and dancing Jesus Christ.
The third series of Wallander provided BBC one with the channel’s biggest audience of the day as the Swedish cop investigated the deaths of two Latvian criminals. Last week’s return of Kenneth Brannagh’s weathered officer attracted 6.4 million, a figure which fell slightly last night. 5.2 million people came back for the second new episode, attracting a 23% audience share.
Even Fearne Cotton’s meandering through the dusty number one videos of yore had a healthier Sunday night. This third and, some would argue, the most crucial part of the fascinating series wound to a close from 9:30pm. 3.4 million viewers showed up to sit through the final hour and a half and discover Bohemian Rhapsody is the nation’s favourite number one song. A weekend well spent, then.
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.