Everything about David Jason on the BBC has been a joke this year. He looks so out of place and uncomfortable in the BBC christmas promo alongside the likes of Nick Knowles and Bill Turnbull and then his sitcom is awful.

I don't think it'll be too badly hurt by the change in start time considering some of the Coronation Street audience will have been floating around, though I'm surprised it wasn't referred to after yesterday's episode.

TBH I think Emmerdale and Coronation Street could struggle more than EastEnders rating wise - strange slots and the latter was away from a BBC junction.


I think the BBC are brave to give Mrs. Brown Boy's a 9.30pm slot - they'll be playing with fire if they move it to 9pm.


The lead was likeable and fell into awful situations by circumstance in The Worst Week Of My Life. In The Royal Bodyguard the lead isn't likeable because he's such a prat.

I've just seen a trailer for The Magicians - they've changed it a lot from last year by the looks of it!

As this is the ratings thread (and a predominantly pro-bbc one at that) let us keep our fingers crossed that it did the numbers, admittedly it wasn't groundbreaking - but for 30 mins on Boxing Day, surely it can rate 8m overnight?

I am not sure how many people realise that David Jason is a shy and retiring man in reality, he isn't a sharp cocky geezer - you only have to watch him being interviewed to see that he loves to plays characters a world away from the real DJ. I think he will be happy and quite relieved when he sees the overnights in the morning......

I don't know what sickens me most about The Royal Bodyguard. The humiliation of a national treasure, the humbling of our national broadcaster's flagship channel, seeing the expectation that this might actually be a good new hit sitcom so cruelly crushed, the thought that someone at the BBC actually thinks this "treat" was actually quite good and worthy of the promotion and a plum slot, or most cruelly of all the fact that this did actually have half a dozen good gags in it and wasn't that far off being a good bit of comic slapstick - but was so poorly executed that it was actually excruciatingly embarrassing to watch.

Mrs Brown was brilliant, The Borrowers was fantastic (and hinted at a possible follow up series). But oh dear, BBC1, what a steaming turd you offered us at 9.30!

I actually feel sorry for Brendan O'Carroll - seeing his second series shackled to this for the next 5 weeks.

I don't know what Monday night drama(s) ITV has lined up for Mondays after Endeavour, but fill your boots guys - BBC1's Monday night ratings are going to be in The Biggest Loser/Jason Manford's new comedy hunt league in January.

Gutted.

Don't watch The Royal Bodyguard.

Or go the opposite route and get John Sergeant, Anne Widdecombe and Russell Grant back.


True, but with ITV it's more damage limitation - and they're scheduling against the same BBC schedule every year.


Seemed more "****" than "****" in Mrs Brown today - BBC censorship at work? Thank god Mrs Brown's Boys had already got a third series then as being at 9.30pm with a stinker at 9pm isn't going to do it any favours.

Looks like I am the sole supporter of TRB on here, I didn't particularly love it, but faced with watching 2 hours of paint dry (sorry Poirot) I thought I would give it a try, then stayed tuned for MBB afterwards, again not my type of comedy really. What matters are ratings - nothing else, I will stick my neck out here (gulp!) - The Royal Bodyguard will not drop below 5m throughout the 6 week run!

I ddint and never had any intention of.

Above Suspicion starts on the 9th, I think.

Maybe - like Victoria Wood last year - the reason why the BBC elected not to give The Royal Bodyguard an EastEnders Christmas lead in was because it was so rubbish?

The Royal Bodyguard was awful I think it will flop and flop big.

Think you've fallen foul of DS censorship.

I hope 8m people did bother to, a captive audience, up against (yawn!) Poirot, starring David Jason, a 10m lead-in, silly humour, half the country inebriated - surely it has a chance of shining in the morning?

yes but look at Come Fly With last christmas, it got massive ratings, and much more than it deserved. It was average to good, but thanks to the Christmas launch its series average and ratings generally were larger than maybe it deserved. However it was never the flop the Royal Bodyguard apparently is.

I was a fan of Come Fly With Me but that might not mean much as I'm also a fan of Life's Too Short.

The Royal Bodyguard must be bad in that case...

Come Fly With Me was holding onto its audience well until BBC1 messed with the scheduling.

im not saying it was rubbish, just saying that it got higher ratings than it deserved.

Royal Bodyguard was dissapointing, it was like a less funny version of Johnny English whereas Mrs Brown's Boys was as funny as ever. Think it would have worked on Christmas Day after Ab Fab.

And now...

Saturday 17 December 2011 Finals
1...Strictly Come Dancing (19:00) - 13.34m (49.2%)
2...Strictly Come Dancing (21:00) - 13.16m (45.1%)
3...Merlin - 8.39m (31.7%)
4...BBC News - 7.82m (33.2%)
5...The National Lottery - Saturday Draws - 6.55m (25.8%)

Huge rating in the finals for Merlin! Strictly was 0.12m shy of The X Factor excluding +1.

We are the ratings thread, not the critics thread - I don't mind how bad a programme is - what fascinates me is channel loyalty, the draw of a big name, how Christmas time affects viewing habits. Of course I would hope that people who watch a show do enjoy it - it wasn't tv gold, then again it wasn't ITV1 comedy standard either thankfully.

I must be the only one who liked The Royal Bodyguard! It was old fashioned and daft but was undemanding viewing. I actually think audience laughter would have improved it though.

I'm sorry to say that TRB must rank as one of the top 20 worst sitcoms I've seen in my entire life, if not top 10. I'm just trying to think what else would go in the list. Big Top. And Sunnyside Farm, a 1997 BBC2 sitcom starring Phil Daniels.

They will be plenty of sitcoms from the past that I regard as not very funny but these three hit new heights in awfulness. Weak jokes, weak situations, unbelievable characters, poor acting.

This idea showed have been drowned at birth and by that I mean when the writers were chucking ideas about.

1st writer : How about a sitcom where a royal car park attendant accidentally gets promoted to head of royal security?
2nd writer : That's the worst idea you've ever had in your entire life. Don't speak to me for the next two hours.

Ooh. So close.

I don't think the above rating includes the BBC HD simulcast audience for 3D viewers. With that included, SCD might've even sneaked ahead of TXF. Hopefully we get those 3D figures soon - the first episode needs 116k on 3D to help SCD beat TXF's Final rating (13.455m).

Anyone know what Mrs Browns Boys got on RTE? Must have easily done over 1m on Christmas Day given it was doing nearly that on Saturdays. Also are they airing it same day as BBC One?