I think such decisions are made at C4 level rather than ITV, though of course ITV got the blame for firing Vorderman. However messy that was though replacing her was long overdue and I do think host wise the only wrong moves in recent years have been Des O'Conner and Nick Hewer.

If there was such a thing as a national trust for television along with Coronation Street I think Countdown would be one of the few shows listed on it. I think the problem is more about the schedule as a whole now rather than Countdown itself - partly due to increased competition from ITV and BBC1, but mainly due to C4 daytime just being tired and a mess at the moment.

I do think the time is perhaps right to return Countdown to two series a year, each running 3-4 months - but as we've said many times daytime needs revamping and space needs to be made to trial new shows. Personally I think a revamped daytime line up would be much stronger with Countdown as a part of it rather than it not being there. The same can't be said for Deal or No Deal.

Lynam was the worst of the lot. He looked half asleep throughout his tenure.

Deal or No Deal definitely needs to go.

Agreed. It seems they're pretty much doing that this year, apparently 31st August was the date being bandied about during the auditions filmed this week, so very nearly a September launch. Suspect they'll go with Sunday episodes from the outset too. That ties in with the Harry Potter season ITV are starting tomorrow too (with the later darker films taking primetime slots instead of afternoon ones) so I think that'll be what happens.

I have a good feeling about this series of The X Factor based on what I've seen and heard so far, with the return of Sharon and the altered format making a big difference, although whether that will actually be reflected in the ratings or not is another matter. If it can hold steady at last year's levels it'll be fine although given the severity of the drops in the last two series even that won't be an easy task.

Des Lynam looks half asleep throughout his career - that was his selling point.

Highest Eviction ratings for BB tonight after an exciting week? I'm going for 1.9million including +1.

What does BBC1 provide as an alternative before Atlantis arrives?

Not a chance, the Daley-Hazel thing is over now, won't beat that kerfuffle.

Yes, and the trouble Lynam had was that he was following Richard, so that was always going to be difficult. After Richard died, Gyles Brandreth said the problem the new presenter was going to face was that every time they came on, viewers would just be disappointed it wasn't Richard, and there's some truth to that.

Of course Des Lynam's big disaster was Sport Mastermind in 2008 where he seemingly had some sort of illness while he was doing it, and he was terrible, fluffing all his lines, fidgeting in his seat and being so awkward with the contestants it made John Humphrys look Bucie. A real "Who are you and what have you done with the real Des?" moment.

I think they should bring back Jeff Stelling, he was the best host since Richard Whitely, replacing him with Hewer was one of their daftest decisions

Seriously doubt it. 1.7m at most, I expect 1.6m.

I think it's a bit irrelevant to say that, considering how the opener rated in the middle of August the four series prior to last year - if it pulled in 10-11m then, then the fact it's in the middle of August can't be the reason it only got 8 million last year. The second episode usually sees a slight drop-off because of the Bank Holiday weekend (it rose a bit last year however).

Clearly a bb hater I'm going for 1.6m

Agree I'm expecting around 1.6-1.5m

According to his biography it wasn't the decision of C4, they did everything including moving filming schedules but Jeff needed more time to focus on his sky sports commitments so decided to leave.

I think mainstream comedy does take a bit of beating from critics, I love shows like The Thick of It and Girls but I also love shows like The Big Bang Theory, Mrs Browns Boys etc which aren't clever but they're not supposed to me, to me, a comedy that doesn't make you laugh has failed and most of the time, a comedy that tries to be edgy and clever fails with audience because they forget to make it funny.

There is room for both the single camera comedy and the mulitcamera comedy, I don't have a problem with it as it depends on the show, something like The Thick of It wouldn't as a multicamera comedy and likewise, a sitcom like The Big Bang Theory wouldn't work as well as a single camera. I find it Strange that critics complain about laughter in sitcoms but yet don't have a problem with it other television comedies like a panel show

I really wouldn't worry about what anybody on here says about BB's ratings. Desmond seems to be perfectly happy with them judging by his Twitter. And this past week it's been producing some of its best ever numbers for the civilian version on C5.

All signs point towards there being more mileage in the format so I fully expect a renewal announcement soon.

Sherlock subtitles clues reveal the final episode of series 3 will be called His Last Vow.

It probably will be, but I'm expecting a peak of 1.8m-2m

Stelling said he wanted to leave then changed his mind but C4 told him it was too late.

I don't see how that post made the poster in question "a BB hater". They just pointed out that because Daley has now been ejected and that whole drama has started to die down, BB will most likely go back to its usual number of 1.4m. I don't see how that makes them a "hater" Big Brother has been incredibly consistent for Channel 5.

In a complete dream world here, but I'd love for Channel 5 to bring back The Bill. I think it would be perfect - they already show US crime dramas, so the channel is known for showing that kind of drama. And it would be a British drama commission for them, in an easy genre (crime) plus they'd be reviving a recognisable programme that was loved by so many viewers for so many years. It could easily get 2-3m+ I think, if they gave it a good marketing push, big promotional campaign etc and if they made the show a perfect balance of crime and soapy style storylines.

Sorry I'm quite passionate about bb

I'm sure Factor will be back in mid August, and Voice in late March. The Ratings Thread likes moving long standing fixtures around, but the schedulers don't.

The newer Potter films will move from Saturdays to another night, if need be.

They do alright for BBC1, but those are just standard figures for cheap factual. With the exception of Nick & Margaret, none of it is that impressive (and even they took a dive this week). I can't imagine any of it would have done particularly good business on C4.


There's a fairly significant format change to the auditions on X Factor this year so it could be a different schedule this time. They moved it back a week a few years ago (from the 2nd to the 3rd Saturday in August, I think). A lot depends on when they plan to introduce the Sunday shows as well. In recent years they've just appeared towards the end of the run. I doubt it will be a particularly significant shift whatever they do.

As far as the newer films are concerned, they may well use it as a lead-in for X Factor.

I would assume it's one every week, leading up to the newer films considering it's pilled as "Harry Potter season". So, I would guess the schedule looks like this (if the films do stay on Saturdays):

20th July - Philosopher's Stone
27th July - Chamber of Secrets
3rd August - Prisoner of Azkaban
10th August - Goblet of Fire
17th August - Order of the Phoenix
24th August - Half-Blood Prince
31st August - Deathly Hallows – Part 1
7th September - Deathly Hallows – Part 2

I think they'll push the last few films back a bit more to coincide at the X Factor live shows.

@TVRatingsUK 3m
#BigBrother last night averaged 1.62m/8.9% on Channel 5 (incl. +1), finishing third in its slot, behind BBC1 and ITV.