there was a brief bit or reportage about the X-Factor ratings on BBC 3 news, given the clip they used, a blond girl assaulting the camera, cant say im surprised, I was not aware X-Factor had sunk to airing the contestants who behave like that.

Under 1.4m

My guess at the schedules:

Saturday 22nd December
BBC One
19:30 - Merlin
20:20 - Lottery
21:10 - Casualty
22:00 - BBC News
22:20 - Match of the Day

ITV1
19:00 - Text Santa

Sunday 23rd December
BBC One
19:00 - Sports Personality of the Year 2012
22:00 - BBC News

ITV1
21:00 - Mr Selfridge

Christmas Eve
BBC One
18:20 - FILM: Alice In Wonderland
20:00 - EastEnders
20:30 - Outnumbered
21:00 - Not Going Out
21:30 - HIGNFY
22:00 - The Graham Norton Show
23:00 - BBC News

ITV1
19:00 - Emmerdale
19:30 - Coronation Street
- either a 2 hour drama or YBF and 90 minute drama, ITV will more than likely only have one Corrie on the Monday to compensate for two on the Tuesday

Christmas Day
BBC One
18:00 - Doctor Who
19:00 - Strictly Come Dancing Olympics Special
20:00 - EastEnders
20:30 - Miranda
21:00 - EastEnders
21:30 - Mrs Brown's Boys
22:00 - The Royle Family
23:00 - BBC News

ITV1
17:30 - All Star Family Fortunes
18:30 - Emmerdale
19:30 - Coronation Street
20:00 - Downton Abbey
22:00 - Coronation Street

The Christmas Day line-up is not a typo, either. Downton Abbey would be better at 20:00 rather than 21:00 as the audience dropped off slightly last year towards the end if I remember.

Call the Midwife I think would go out on the Sunday after Christmas (or Boxing Day).

@Jake_Kanter: Silent Witness won the 9pm drama battle. It secured 5.63m (24.5%) viewers compared with Last Weekend’s 3.19m (13.88%). #tellyratings

Ouch for The Last Weekend! It was scheduled terribly - against a new episode of Silent Witness and with a repeat of The Cube (which was probably sub-2m) as a lead-in. It would probably have got 5m+ in a decent slot - shows what a difference a slot can make. Must be the worst start for a new ITV drama for a long time.

That must be one of the highest overnights for this last series of SW, which was widely seen as a bit of a car crash.

Very poor for Lost Weekend. Gave it a miss, it being August and therefore clearly a burn-off.

As for Christmas scheduling - enough already! It's high summer you muppets, we'll never get George back if he steps foot outside the bunker, sniffs the warm summer air, and logs on here for news of TXF's triumphant return and sees the thread full of fantasy BBC1 Christmas Day schedules...

According to Ch4 overnights, Channel 5 had a 7.1% share all day compared to Ch4 6.8% which is a few % higher than the last few days, and highest since Wednesday. Maybe CBB went over 2m?

Lost Weekend is a 3 parter so will love to see what the ratings for ep 3 will be since up against George Gently.

Many thanks

I think the Opening or Closing Ceremony will get another run-out at Christmas, probably not on a major day though, but it's just about conceivable it could go in place of a Boxing Day film repeat. Possibly edited down.

By that rationale then, Ruth Rendall's 39 Steps and Accused are also being burnt off then?

Doctor Who Online ‏@DrWhoOnline
We're hearing reports that the start date for Series 7 may now be 8th September...More news shortly.
10:36 AM - 20 Aug 12

Have you not watched any recent series of The X Factor? The entire audition was really just the next step in the 'progression' the show has taken as of late. For all the talk of the problems with The X Factor I think its incredibly easy to sum up – its not fun any more. It was always a little bit mean and exploitative but it managed to maintain a sense of fun and entertainment now its just mean and exploitative and it can make for incredibly uncomfortable viewing.

And its amazing to me that the production opted to ramp that up this year after the relative success of the more fun and lighter Britain's Got Talent this year and the audience reaction to the 'nicer' auditions of The Voice (which however the show might have panned out were a huge success).

If this is true it seems October 6th Will be the Night for Doctor Who, Strictly and Merlin?? Taking us to the 22nd of December for the last Merlin?

Celebrity Big Brother got 1.89m including +1, not sure what Friday's ratings was but if it was lower than that, then last night was the highest since the launch.

I actually watched The Last Weekend (and I don't normally watch many ITV dramas) but I enjoyed it. I thought it was good and had a different twist to most other drama offerings.

Alongside a September 8 'launch show' for Strictly I suspect. That should provide a strong night for BBC1.


By my count an October 6 start would have Merlin running through to December 29 which isn't completely out of the question I suppose. The BBC might be better off having more than one week of Doctor Who, Strictly and Merlin though. I'm assuming that Strictly will start its live shows proper on September 28/29 so they may as well push a big Saturday night on the 29 with Merlin starting that week as well. They then wouldn't have to promote the Who finale and the Merlin return during the same week.

The launch show isn't being filmed until the 12th, so it's going to air on the 15th, meaning the live shows will start on the 6th October (three weeks after.) DW is probably being pushed back to the 8th (if it has been pushed back it may have been planned for the 8th all along) so that the last episode airs with the start of Strictly, giving it the boost it got last year.

Merlin could start on the 29th, with just DW as a lead in, as you say giving the chance to promote Merlin's return and DW's finale separately, but I think it will start on the 6th with perhaps the last episode airing as a double bill or on Christmas Eve like last year (despite it not being a Saturday.)

Possibly a big day for the Ratings Thread today, as we could see the biggest single channel TV audience of all time posted when the BARB update comes out. Will the Closing Ceremony beat the Opening and topple OFAH?

We await Mike Teevee with interest....

(Well I do. Others are more interested in Cowell worship and fantasy schedules... )

Should be noted this is based on a trailer that may or may not exist. Someone claiming they couldn't link it cause their on their ipad and a number of people I trust more closely never saw it at all. (on BBC America)

Also important to note that BBC America has a DW marathon schedule from 7am-10pm of the last series. Either that will change and DW goes in there, or DW goes 8th.

Theres a New York screening on 25th August though.


That would be 12 episodes. Christmas Eve for Merlin it is Course. Merlin could just start a week earlier.

If it's the ''biggest single channel TV audience of all time'' it will have to beat the 30 million who watched the 1966 World Cup Final on BBC1 (I assume you are referring to UK audiences only).

It was rumoured (DS even wrote an article about it) but Alan Davies confirmed that these rumours were false on Twitter. A shame... I would love for it to have come back for Christmas, even though the last offering wasn't Creek at its best.

There was also a rumour about the BBC wanting a Waking the Dead Christmas special, but haven't heard anything about it since so I guess that isn't true.

How festive... I can hear the announcer now... "Next up a film for all the family to enjoy, it's Pixar's Toy Story, followed by a festive adventure for the Doctor, in Doctor Who and then after that there's a paedophile on the loose in all new Waking the Dead. Merry Christmas"

OFAH?

Oprah's Favourite Asian Holiday's... It was one of those Channel 4 countdown shows...