TV viewing round-up: September 2016

Cold Feet returned to TV screens last month after a thirteen year absence – minus Helen Baxendale – to give ITV a much needed boost in its ratings war with BBC One.

The first episode, which saw Adam returning to Manchester after years living in Singapore, attracted an average audience of just under 8 million. Impressive figures – so much so, that ITV confirmed this week that it has commissioned another series.

Elsewhere in September, Strictly Come Dancing returned with great fanfare as the launch show unveiled this year’s contestants.

Featuring the likes of ex-shadow Chancellor Ed ‘Ed Balls’ Balls, Judge Rinder and Greg Rutherford, the introduction show pulled in 10.4 million viewers.

The battle of the Sunday night dramas saw ITV’s Victoria emerge triumphant against BBC One’s Poldark last month.

The episodes shown on 4 September attracted the biggest ratings for both shows, with ITV’s regal drama receiving 7.1 million viewers and Poldark attracting 6.7 million.

The second series of Our Girl hit the screens in September, with a different former-soap star in the lead role.

Following in the footsteps of Eastenders’ Lacy Turner was ex-Coronation Street star Michelle Keegan as the ‘girl’ of the title, with the début episode pulling in 5.5 million viewers.

Meanwhile, Sam Allardyce’s cameo appearance as England manager proved to be much more successful for ITV than it was for him.

In the brief halcyon days before falling foul of Daily Telegraph’s undercover sting, Big Sam’s England struggled to a 1-0 victory over Slovakia in front of 5.4 million viewers.

Other programmes that did well in September include: ITV’s latest crime drama Paranoid, (5.2 million); the one off special episode of Goodnight Sweetheart, (4.7 million); the return of Stephen Tompkinson as DCI Banks (4.5 million) and new BBC One drama One of Us (4.8 million).

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