TV Overnights: X Factor and Strictly square off but ITV1 remains the weekend’s winner
Finally, something other than the soaps captured Friday’s biggest audience! Also, fans of over-long, bombastic and superfluous talent shows were in for a real treat and Homeland returned with a second series of hyber-paranoid fun.
Friday
For the first time in eons the soaps fell short of their usual Friday night glory. The biggest hit of the evening didn’t evolve around squabbling on cobbles but around sequins and intense smiling from Tess Daly. The tenth series of Strictly Come Dancing (BBC One) arrived on our screens in the 9pm slot and featured an hour of splits, teeth whitener and a whole lot of cleavage.
A whopping 8 million viewers tuned in to see the first seven couples put the last three weeks of training to good use. An audience share of 34% watched as the celebrities took to the floor, ranging from surprising (Jerry Hall) to the downright cruel (friend of the celebrities, Richard Arnold).
Despite the flashy distraction, earlier in the night, the long running British soaps held their own and are currently still safe from being cancelled. Emmerdale started things off at 7pm on ITV1 and secured an impressive 6.6 million viewers and a 33% share.
This was followed immediately after by the first episode of Coronation Street at 7:30pm, which saw Maria cross the line with GBF Marcus. Delighted after receiving some good news, the hairdresser and the midwife locked lips – complicating things a little. The first dose of the northern drama captured Friday’s biggest audience, as 7.8 million viewers (a 34% share) witnessed the pashing that crossed sexual divides. The second episode at 8:30pm, which saw Marcus and Maria STARE at each other across a crowded party, didn’t fare as well but still pulled in 6.8 million viewers (a 29% share).
EastEnders (BBC One, 8pm) saw young mother Lola in a celebratory mood as she was finally freed from her electronic tag. This being Walford however, the uplifting ambience wasn’t to last and before you could say “step in time, Mary Poppins” the social services showed up to drag her young baby out of her hands. Happy Friday, one and all. The episode was watched by 7.5 million viewers and secured an audience share of 33%.
Ronan Keating was the latest shameless celebrity to appear on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories on ITV1 at 9pm. The former face of Boyzone had a tricky balancing act to get through; emotively crying on the simple giant’s shoulder while simultaneously trying to flog his latest album. The interview was carried out with precise planning – this was a defensive session in an effort to win back some much needed goodwill from the public.
The audience was quickly reminded of all the hardships suffered by the solo star (there were a lot of tears), before quickly dealing with the whole sticky ‘love rat’ issue. Just under 3 million viewers watched Keating, who for some bizarre reason was reminiscent of a skinny David Brent, resulting in a 12% audience share.
Saturday
The second round of happy dancers took to the stage at 6:30pm for another blast of people trying way too hard on Strictly Come Dancing (BBC One). On Friday, Fern Britton’s peppiness was almost convincing but it was the dead eyes that gave the game away; one look into her soul and you could tell the mortgage needed to be paid.
Saturday’s high kicking action actually did better than the previous night’s offering, with 8.7 million viewers tuning in. The show captured an impressive 40% audience share but wasn’t Saturday’s biggest success story.
Doctor Who-ish show Merlin (BBC One, 7:45pm) returned for a fifth series of magic and mischief. Filling the Saturday slot left empty by the good doctor, the episode moved things on three years since last December’s series finale (itself pulling in 6.4 million viewers). The swashbuckling, wand twiddling action (think Game of Thrones via CBeebies) was watched by 6 million people and netted a 26% share.
Fans of large buttons, lights, sass and incessant noise were rewarded with the fourth series of brain-melting Take Me Out (ITV1) at 7pm. Paddy McGuinness, his winning grin and a shedload of women in orange make up were back to keep us from feeling too lonely on a Saturday night. The choice personalities and the life changing decisions pulled in 3.3 million viewers and secured a 15% share.
Sadly this was all over shadowed by the big noise of the night. It was a whole six days since the nation got their hit of The X Factor and they must have been ravenous. ITV1 kindly treated us all to not one but two hours of your karaoke favourites, all the while convincing us that any of it actually mattered through the use of CAPITAL letters and important music during the intrusive indents. 8.8 million people watched as the final 12 acts sang for their lives, capturing a 38% share.
Sunday
Sunday evening’s comedown kicked off in style with Countryfile at 7pm on BBC One. Adam Henson played with dung beetles while Matt Baker delved into Northumberland’s bloody history. Maybe the show’s success is down to the fact that The X Factor announcer was nowhere to be heard. 6.4 million people watched as presenter Tom Heap worried about the lack of livestock markets in the area, securing a 19% share.
There was a strange meta-moment during last night’s The X Factor results show. Although this year is intentionally more like a soap opera than a talent show, emotions got a bit much for one judge. Although the jury is out whether the incident was ‘enriched‘ by scriptwriters.
Upon hearing that an orange cartoon horror had got through instead of, you know, an actual woman who could sing, Gary Barlow stormed off stage in protest, calling the process ‘a joke’. All we can do is help Gary through this tough time of self-realisation by not watching any more of the show. That wasn’t the case last night however, as 9.4 million viewers tuned in for the high drama, netting a 35% share.
After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, fans of ITV1’s Downton Abbey (9pm) must have been horrified that the third series reached the mid-point. Last night saw the pesky troubles in Ireland disrupt the serene fantasy of the roaring twenties. Tom Branson had been busy burning down the odd stately home in Ireland and needed to spend some time in Downton, while the fuzz lost his trail. The show was watched by an impressive 9.2 million viewers, resulting in a 36% share.
At the same time the second series of Homeland (9pm) kicked off over on Channel 4. After the intense goings on of last year’s finale, last night we were dropped in to a much calmer setting. Carrie has laid off the electro therapy and instead potters around the garden, while confirmed evil-doer Brody set his eyes on the White House. It’s not long before Carrie was dragged back into the murky world of American intelligence and the proverbial hit the fan. 2 million viewers caught up with the psychological mind game, securing an 8% 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.