Long Lost Family was good and made a good start...though could have done with a tad more info WDYTYA style as to how they traced the people that had been impossible for the subject themselves to find. That could have replaced some of the smaltz that was rather over egged.

Maybe they thought an ITV audience would not care how the story was researched like a BBC one does?

As for Life of Riley v Midsommer it does pose the amusing scenario of DCI Barnaby investigating the mysterious disappearance of a lookalike sitcom actor whose appearance from the other side leads to a series of ratings murders (and a few P 45s). Prime suspect is seemingly one Neil Dudgeon.

Clearly the numbers are being suppressed ever more by the good weather - the soap shares show us that - but its a decent start anyway for Long Lost Family. Important for ITV1, actually - they've never really been able to replicate the relative success BBC One has enjoyed with factual formats.

Another poor night for Channel 4 - and we're getting very used to saying that. Their schedule just seems to be so repetitive and derivative these days, I can't say I'm surprised. This post-BB 'creative renewal' has produced pretty much zero for them so far.

No new British soap since Eastenders has done anything in the ratings. The last attempt, Echo Beach, was a complete disaster that struggled to get 2 million viewers at peak time on ITV1.
However, as one poster has pointed out, Channel 4 has become derivative and boring. OK they were right to ditch Big Brother as it was ailing, expensive and couldn't be repeated, but the whole schedule just seems dominated by the same tired shows like Deal or No Deal and Come Dine With Me.

Pobol y Cwm is actually the BBC's longest-running TV soap, it's been going since 1974.

Exactly - and Hollyoaks has now been given the chance to revive itself and yet still dips into the ratings. If it had been axed a year ago I think they'd have been jumping the gun, but if it were to be axed now I don't think you could argue with it.


Echo Beach was never commissioned as anything more than a spin-off from Moving Wallpaper - it was certainly never viewed as the next British soap.

Both Hollyoaks and Doctors have done what they were commissioned to do over the years, regardless of their current form. Night and Day is the one that annoys me - I do think if ITV hadn't been so blindsided for a need for a teatime soap and commissioned it as a drama instead, whether at 9pm (even 8pm) or in the late slot the omnibus had, it might have performed rather well.


Deal and Come Dine with Me aren't the problem though - it's the show after show after show in primetime which is basically a cheap derivative of many shows which have come before it. They're not finding their next Wife Swap, Kitchen Nightmares etc. - and I do think the cost cutting is really showing in the standard of production of these new shows.

As I said though the other day it's the lack of both US and UK drama in the schedule which is really leaving them exposed at the moment - though the lack of factual formats at 9pm and weak line up of lifestyle formats at 8pm isn't helping either.

Thats Just weather related though and being shown in the middle of the afternoon on a hot sunny day during the Easter Holidays is going to affect it alot.

We don't get that in England but everyone in the UK gets EastEnders

Any bets for Doctor Who? I'll go for 7.5 million as it's the start of a new series. I do hope this one does better in the ratings as the last series saw ratings dip to 5.5 million on occasions due to the weather and a couple of below standard episodes.
BGT should hold steady at 10 million tomorrow night, but SIYC could start to tank in the ratings as everyone has seen it says it's rubbish.

And the 8.3% share is very respectable for Channel 5. Would have placed C5 third from 9pm onwards


Or those like me who miss the original airing due to work Very handy indeed on BBC3

Of course it's available to everyone with Sky/Freesat.

It is indeed a terrific share. I couldn't believe it when I saw it! Great rating. Towards the end of the programme it's likely C5 improved to second place and maybe even first for a short time. It was wonderfully scheduled on the night before a Bank Holiday to capitalise on viewers staying up later than usual.

Unfortunately, that was the only decent rating Channel 5 got in primetime last night. Still enough for a win over Channel 4 though which is getting increasingly easy these days. And outside of prime, Neighbours seems to be holding up a lot better than the majority of teatime TV shows and soaps during this warm spell.

I predicted 6.4m in the DS Ratings Prediction Game but I'm starting to think with this glorious weather I've seriously over-predicted.

Unless people record it at 6pm and watch it at 7pm when BBC1 and ITV1 close down for the hour. Anyone who does that (and is in the BARB sample audience) will be included in the overnights.

BGT may slip to 9m on ITV1 but possibly will be close to 10m when you add in ITV1+1.

Yeah, I went with 6.4m as well. That was taking into account the predicted weather. With it being a series launch I'd be surprised to see it below 6m but it is definitely possible.

Pretty strong start I think for Long Lost Family. Factual doesn't tend to perform that well on ITV anyway, especially on one of the hottest days of the year and I was expecting about 1m less. No doubt it will fall, but if ITV could find a factual series above 4m then that would be good. Corrie did alright too to be able to match EE's figure, especially considering EE has been extremely strong this week and Thursday is Corrie's weakest day.

Another disaster for Ch4, and Ch5's marathon clip show helped them win primetime. 1.4m until past midnight is pretty impressive. Ouch for H&A though

I fear for Dr Who, there seems to be a perfect storm rising up against it. Early scheduling in the hottest Easter I can remember.More people seem to have been persuaded to record Who these days than sit down and watch it first run, and however good Matt Smith is, Tennant created more of a buzz inside and outside the role.
I actually thought that some of the overnights last year were in the 4 million territory.

Doctor Who's overnights last year were:

03/04 - 8.0m (38.4%)
10/04 - 6.7m (34.0%)
17/04 - 6.2m (32.7%)
24/04 - 6.8m (36.7%)
31/04 - 6.9m (34.5%)
08/05 - 6.2m (30.6%)
15/05 - 6.2m (33.0%)
22/05 - 4.5m (32.2%)
29/05 - 5.7m (27.2%)
05/06 - 5.0m (29.4%)
12/06 - 4.6m (22.3%)
19/06 - 5.9m (31.5%)
26/06 - 5.1m (31.2%)
Average = 6.0m (31.8%)

And the Christmas special, although not a valid comparison had 10.3m (39.8%).

I think those are the only really valid comparisons, really - considering the previous full season before that was 2008.

I'd be surprised if it was over 6m tomorrow. I think it'll be 5.5m overnight round about, but with a mammoth timeshift, sending it up to near 8m. No way will it get a 7m overnight.

It's strange, they split the series in two to avoid the hot weather, and the hot weather decides to happen in April instead of June!

I never counted Echo Beach as a soap.


Agreed I think its unfair to say that Hollyoaks & Doctors have not been succesful, that said one thing of note is that when Doctors started it was in the form of a series, and then later went to running 40+ weeks a year, that may have been why it was succesful.

Its also worth noting how on going series have flopped, shows like The Bill has been axed, and the only show even close to be a hit has been Waterloo Road.

If you fairly add in the BBC3 and ITV1+1 repeats then Eastenders was over 1m ahead.

Doctors is doing fine.
It dips during the hot weather for simple reasons really.
Doctors has been airing 40+ weeks since 2007 and it seems bigger now then it's ever been (well between 2007 and now)
last year episodes peaked at over 3million and this year episodes have been over 2 million with most episodes (not the last 2 weeks) rating at 1.5-1.8m which makes it the 4 highest rated soap on British tv

EastEnders was bound to lose some viewers sooner or later and seeing most people are off work now they are heading away on Holiday/out clubbing ect

EastEnders has a younger fanbase and doesn't really rate all that well on Bank Holidays ect (summer ones)
I fully expect Corrie to come out on top tonight

[quote=D.M.N.;49590661]Doctor Who's overnights last year were:

03/04 - 8.0m (38.4%)
10/04 - 6.7m (34.0%)
17/04 - 6.2m (32.7%)
24/04 - 6.8m (36.7%)
31/04 - 6.9m (34.5%)
08/05 - 6.2m (30.6%)
15/05 - 6.2m (33.0%)
22/05 - 4.5m (32.2%)
29/05 - 5.7m (27.2%)
05/06 - 5.0m (29.4%)
12/06 - 4.6m (22.3%)
19/06 - 5.9m (31.5%)
26/06 - 5.1m (31.2%)
Average = 6.0m (31.8%)

And the Christmas special, although not a valid comparison had 10.3m (39.8%).

I think those are the only really valid comparisons, really - considering the previous full season before that was 2008.

I'd be surprised if it was over 6m tomorrow. I think it'll be 5.5m overnight round about, but with a mammoth timeshift, sending it up to near 8m. No way will it get a 7m overnight.

It's strange, they split the series in two to avoid the hot weather, and the hot weather decides to happen in April instead of June![/QUOTE]

I agree-it could be a Who storyline

Thanks for the figures.

Thanks. I'm not going entirely mad, then.

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What's the weather been like for everyone, today, and will it affect ratings more or less than yesterday? It was very warm and sunny in Wales yesterday, but it's been cloudy, showery and less warm today.

EE is also bigger in the South and the weather is even hotter down there today, which could affect the ratings further. Coronation St will lose out a bit, but not as much.

Well certainly where I am in the Midlands, its been wall to wall sunshine and ridiculously warm up until the last half hour or so. I usually have this week off but for some reason chose not to this year. More fool me.

is been a really nice day here, and not TOO hot either, ive spent most of the day outside, trying to come up with a story about the arrival of spring, which does for Easter, what Santa does for Christmas.

So far ive got an idea, inculding, Jack Frost, Two Bunnies, a King Fisher and the Eggs of Spring.

Its going to be called "Two Bunnies Save Spring" coming next Spring to CBBC