The ITV Network makes an impressive start to June’s viewing figures, with a 3.6% increase on its overall viewing share from the previous week. ITV leads the way with a 34.8% share, chased by BBC1 which achieved a 26.6% share. Take a glance at this week’s top thirty programmes, and you can’t fail to notice that ITV have really wiped the floor clean, with the BBC only scoring three programmes in the chart.
Despite this, Eastenders has this week had one of its better weeks in recent times. First and foremost, its average audience figure for the week has risen from its recent depths to a respectable 13.10 million. Secondly Frank ‘alright babe’ Butcher has finally got his teeth into something, namely Peggy ‘mind me syrup’ Mitchell. What a ridiculous couple, apparently The Wedding is going to come in the form of a Christmas Special. God help Frank; one thought of Victor Lewis Smith immediately springs to mind: “Weddings are funerals where you can smell your own flowers”.
Coronation Street still comes out on top, with an average audience of 15.49 million across the week. Sam continues her personality shift from nasty to downright rotten, and Les continues as Jack Duckworth’s understudy and keeps our faces smiling!
After the soaps the top show of the week audience-wise was Diana: Secrets Behind The Crash (12.79 million). This was followed the next night by Channel 4’s shot at building a conspiracy theory in Dispatches (5.36 million). Isn’t this the exact sort of coverage and speculation we all decided was distasteful, and indeed contributed to Diana’s death? Still, as long as there’s a buck to be made…..
On to lighter matters. Duff Budgies of the week: World’s Dumbest Drivers (ITV 9.09 million) and The Bill Special (LWT 9.84). Both of these score worryingly high audience figures, especially as Dumb Drivers went head to head with Only Fools & Horses (6.21 million). Worst of all (too duff to even feature in the above category) Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 50th Birthday (8.13 million); there’s just no accounting for taste these days.
Most entertaining show of the week, of course, goes to Des O’Connor’s World Cup Party. Guests included Tony Blair (actually quite funny, as long as you avert your eyes from his permanent grimace), Alan Davies (currently the second most underrated comedian in the UK after Frank Carson), and of course Warren Mitchell as Alf Garnett. What a line up! Admittedly, the icing on the cake would have been Jim Bowen, but you can’t have it all.
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Reviewer: Jim Sparkes
