TV viewing round-up: January 2015

As the Christmas and New Year holiday period drew to a close there was still time for BBC One to offer up a gem for viewers dreading the return to work, with the adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Esio Trot taking pride of place on New Year’s Day.

Featuring an award winning-cast – including Dustin Hoffman, Dame Judi Dench and James Corden – in a charming tale about a widower, a secret admirer and an apparently ever-growing tortoise, the 90-minute comedy drama pulled in an average audience of 7.9 million viewers.

The ratings juggernaut that is Call The Midwife returned this month for the fourth series of tales of 1960s East End midwifery.

The second episode recorded the biggest rating of the month, with just under 10.5 million viewers tuning in to see new nurse Phyllis Crane shake up the atmosphere amongst her fellow midwives.

Despite the apparent conclusion to the whodunnit murder case in series one, Broadchurch returned after a two year absence with more mysteries and intrigue.

The debut episode of the second series raked in the highest ratings for the show, with an average of 10.4 million people wondering exactly what twists there could be left in the case.

The New Year’s Day comedy double bill of Miranda and Mrs Brown’s Boys helped BBC One start 2015 on a strong note.

Both shows managed to pull in the exact same audience figure of 9.5 million, further proof that BBC is in a league of its own when it comes to sitcoms.

There was some joy for ITV this month with this year’s National Television Awards 2015 proving to be popular with the great British public.

The awards ceremony honoured the great and good of British television, with an average audience of 6.8 million viewers tuning in to see Eastenders win the big prize of the night.

The seventh series of package holiday comedy Benidorm hit the screens, featuring the return of original cast member Johnny Vegas aka ‘The Oracle’ and the introduction of the Garvey family.

BBC Two’s adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s novel Wolf Hall was a success, giving the channel its biggest ratings for a drama since Eric and Ernie back in 2011.

Nearly 6 million tuned in for the first episode which detailed the fictional rise of Thomas Cromwell in the court of Henry VIII, once again showing that the British public love historical dramas.

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