TV Viewing Summary – W/E 4/05/97

16.53 million viewers tuned into see if Courtney Mitchell had Grant’s muscles or Tony’s beer belly, this was enough to ensure that Eastenders took pole position in the top 30.

Britain’s two favourite soaps dominated the top 10 once again this week, but Robson Green managed to breakthrough the soap monopoly, taking his show Touching Evil into eighth position. The Anglia production clocked up 12.33 million viewers. Proving that viewers can’t see too much of the ex-Casualty porter, or police drama. Anglia had two productions in the top 20 this week, Where The Heart Is attracted 10.01 million viewers, but this was down on previous weeks.

Forget the election, which did not even figure in the top 30, another fair and democratic show The Eurovision Song Contest captivated 8.51 million. Which country holds the yodeling title is obviously much more important than who governs Britain.

Channel 4 recorded its highest rating this year, when it took Four Weddings and A Funeral out for another airing. 7.32 million people watched the film which is well on its way to becoming a classic. The film premiered on 4 in 1995, when Hugh Grant still had a reputation, and 12.38 million of us stayed in to watch it.

That’s about 12 million more than Channel 5’s top 30 average. It’s Monday night film, Runaway was the biggest ratings winner of the week, attracting 1.02 million viewers. The other 29 programmes in 5’s top 30 hovered between 0.35 million and 0.98 million.