I hope EastEnders makes better ratings tomorrow night for the reveal of Kat's Secret Lover. I think it might edge 8million which will still be poor but hopefully by Christmas Eve it will start seeing better ratings.

I think all it needs is a story to get people talking after Christmas in the new year and it could start getting viewers back.

I do wonder if keeping it running during the Olympics backfired, giving regular viewers the reason not to tune in for a couple of weeks and then allowing them to break the habit.

Of course too along with questions about the standard of the show (though frankly they've been around for at least a decade) moving the BBC3 repeats and the omnibus proves that messing around with other screenings of a soap doesn't mean viewers will switch to the main screening.

Doesn't A = B

Who would have thought heading towards Christmas Day that EastEnders could be the weak link in BBC1's schedule?

I don't watch Eastenders anymore but like many others, I am aware that Kat has a secret lover and that they are going to reveal who it is. I thought that they might do this on Christmas day, so am surprised to hear that it is happening tomorrow night.

Perhaps Kate Harwood will have a closer look at it if she is responsible for serial drama, they should try reducing the number of episodes from some of the serial dramas and try a new one for a year with the resources and see how the audience takes to it, there's room for a different twice weekly drama, as Last Tango's audience figures have proved.

In it's heyday Last Of The Summer Wine was a really good show, with a really good cast. Genuinely. It wouldn't have run for 31 series over 37 years if it had always been rubbish, now would it?

I thought it'd make more sense to reveal that one on Christmas Day. But I avoid soaps as they're just on too often.

I think that there was a period when Harwood was in charge of EastEnders and it wasn't rating well then. The BBC won't reduce the number of episodes. They do less than Corrie/Emmerdale so that's not the problem.

I will also stick up for early Last Of The Summer Wine. The Compo, Clegg & Foggy era was the highest rated and most popular period of the show. Genuinely funny and kids loved it.

She was in charge in 2005 and 2006 yes, and helped improve the spine of the show. I think reducing the overload of episodes would correct the problems quite quickly and its ratings, tighter stories, more rehersal time, less character padding, you would get a better drama and certainly Holby and Casualty don't need to run the whole year. But I think that money would be better used to fund a new project that does not revolve around a hospital or police station.

Eastenders will be getting no boost until Christmas Day, any potential increase will be swallowed up by Christmas shopping or parties. The same happens every year.

First adverts for CBB a few hours ago. I think they have left it late. If they went all out to advertise it would easily surpass 3m, but I reckon around 2.5m is likely for the launch, just like the the last regular and celeb series.

With that logic there is no requirement for EE to run all year then, HC is pretty steady ratings wise and although Casualty is suffering a bit it is due to the BSI who keep shunting its slot around. I agree with your other comments though.

The BBC will never launch another bi-weekly drama therefore any money saved would not be reinvested in a continuing drama, so if episodes are cut back on HC/C then it is fair that EE suffers a reduction as well. And i have heard time and time again that it is not cost effective to reduce a continuing dramas episodes.

Secret Santa in TV land:

"Here you are, BBC1, here's your Christmas present from us"

BBC1 excitedly opens the gift then gives an excited gasp.

"The Spice Girls' Story: Viva Forever. Why, thank you, ITV1, it's just what we wanted. A flopzone Tuesday programme on primetime Christmas Eve. Unbelievably generous."

"Well, our friends the Advertisers tend to go away for the festive season after over-exciting themselves with I'm A Celebrity, Downton and The X Factor in the autumn, so we,re not really into Christmas. We'll make a bit of an effort to join in by sticking Downton on on Christmas Day, but mainly we think Christmas is for others. So we thought we'd put a 90 minute documentary on on Christmas Eve that's going to appeal to absolutely no-one. No-one over 55 will want to watch it apart from the Spice Girls' mums and even all those who were wildly into Girl Power 16 years ago won't be particularly interestes. They'll have much better things to do on Christmas Eve - like watching Eastenders and Outnumbered. Merry Christmas, BBC1."



The BBC have decided not to screen a trailer for Outnumbered this year. They've decided it would be more effective to show the trailer for The Spice Girls Story instead.

Compo, Clegg and Blamire, the originals you may say, were also great.

For me the show really got good when Foggy came onboard. Last Of The Summer Wine was one of the best sitcoms on TV at its peak.

Last Tango: 6.29m (26.6%)
The Town: 1.56m (6.6%)

hmmm, so changing evenings didn't put people off from watching LTIH...interesting.

K

Congratulations to Last Tango on having an audience intelligent enough to read a newspaper or listen to what the announcer told them at the end of episode 5.

How did Snow Babies rate? Tango had a good night

I hope it wasn't the Daily Mail!

Don't be daft. With an hour long Corrie as lead in, the Spices will do just fine.

ITV has a stronger line up than last year on Christmas Eve, and BBC1 will not match last years trouncing of ITV.


Wowsers!

More like a small hamlet in ratings terms than a town.

Yeah, cos the X Factor really helped Katherine Jenkins's show to storm the ratings, didn't it? And Coronation Street viewers are renowned for their inability to operate a remote control And for their undying love for the Spice Girls.

I predict Viva Forever to rate under 3m in the overnights (excl +1).

Hope Viva Forever flops, hate the Spice Girls.

Some good matches for ITV in the Champions League next round. Yet a very good chance all Brit teams could be knocked out.

So,

BBC1's Christmas Eve lineup of

A Christmas Carol
Merlin
EastEnders
Outnumbered
Mrs Browns Boys
The Vicar of Dibley

is weaker than:

Emmerdale
Corrie
Viva Forever
News
Christmas Carols?

I think there will be a lot of people tuning into A Christmas Carol and won't bother switch over to Emmerdale. Then because of that, they will stick with BBC1 and watch Merlin or at the very least watch The Snowman and the Snowdog on C4 which they've recorded so can start watching it once ACC finishes intime for EastEnders to start!