Think you could have tried EE on the weekend when it was strong but now it would be more likely to be a turnoff - it needs better storylines. They should pay Tony Jordan to do some long term storylining - he will have plenty of time now By Any Means is likely to be canned.

They wouldn't put an episode on a weekend unless football or some event takes over, and they can't move it to BBC2.

i would take EastEnders out of the weekday schedules for the Autumn. instead on Monday I would do this:

7.00pm The One Show
7.30 Inside Out
8.00 The Paradise (1 of 2 30 minute eps)
8.30 Panorama
9.00 Ripper Street

TUESDAY:

7.00 The One Show
7.30 Holby City
8.30 DIY SOS: The Big Build
9.30 Citizen Khan

WEDNESDAY

(As it is currently)

THURSDAY:

7.00 The One Show
7.30 Waterloo Road
8.30 Drama
9.30 Have I Got News For You

FRIDAY:

7.00 The One Show
7.30 Bang! Goes The Theory
8.00 The Paradise (2 of 2 30 minute episodes)
8.30 Miranda
9.00 Last Tango in Halifax

That way, by promoting EastEnders to weekends and using the high profile entertainment show to uplift it, it could improve its status and restore a bit of interest.

soaps on a Saturday seems wrong, unless it's the omnibus edition of Sunset Beach

The problem with Daybreak is that it's crap. Only the 6am hour is worth watching. Nobody can spin Daybreak is a success. NOBODY!

Are you there George?

I agree. Soaps on Saturdays is a terrible idea. Personally I think the weekend should be free of soap.

I agree. Normally I wouldn't contemplate of soaps at the weekend. But considering EE needs a bunk up to get it recognised again, the only way I see of doing this is using BBC1's current biggest show to prop it up.

And now it's officially official!

"@bbcpress: Second series of #TheParadise. Episode 1 confirmed for 8pm, Sun 20 Oct on @BBCOne http://t.co/7Bhv4buYv0"

Maybe it and XF could complement each other. But, XF is going to have to try and maximize its rating that Saturday to ensure it holds up well.

The Paradise only did 4m last time round though in a slightly easier slot.

I suspect The Paradise won't rate that badly - but it won't be that good, either, and what it won't have now, crucially, is exposure to a wider audience that will help cement its recommission (as the Tuesday 9pm slot did).

More evidence that Charlotte Moore is happy to throw new/new-ish dramas against ITV's drama and entertainment big hitters in order to protect her old friends in Factual ...

So Countryfile will now air before SCD Results?

It didn't. You keep downgrading it. It did around 5 m in the overnights and 6m in the finals.

I'm not convinced Charlotte Moore wants to throw out drama just for it to lose out. Perhaps she's remembering that BBC One has a duty to offer a real alternative? Considering XF is dented against a 5m+ drama on a Saturday, there is a chance it could also be dented by a 5m+ drama on Sundays too.

All these BBC fans getting all tetchy about others gloating over the EE figure, Robbie talking about extending EE to an hour to dent Emmerdale (unlikely to happen with EE in this state) and ways to dent ITV as if they are playing unfairly. Yet they are happy to gloat over XF lower ratings and are happy for Strictly to clash with XF. Unbelievable hypocrites in this thread.

The BBC are aware XF is weak (although still rating highly) and so extend the clash more than years before (on Saturday), ITV are aware EE is weak and so clash Emmerdale with it.

Yes there are, just like all those who gloat about Eastenders but get tetchy when people gloat over X Factor. 80% of the thread are hypocrites not just BBC fans.

Also you add "(although still rating highly)" for X Factor, but surely a similar thing can be applied to Eastenders, when it isn't clashing it's still consistently one of BBC's best raters. It's not going anywhere and neither is X Factor.

Did it? My mistake.

I suppose 5m wasn't bad but I think people were expecting a bit more.

Wrote a post about EastEnders' ratings decline in the soap forum and it was locked for being "inflammatory".

Talk about an imposition on free speech. I can't put forward a compelling argument for an opinion on a discussion board without it being "inflammatory"?

A number of replies were posted, all of which fairly constructive. Strikes me as utterly absurd. I think I wrote it with thought and made a big effort to justify my opinions.

-sigh-

I think The Paradise hasn't established itself yet. Being on Tuesdays against football didn't help it build an audience. Might not rate much better than Antiques Roadshow.

Go into the thread and copy and paste what you wrote here.

Nah, they'd ban me.

I wouldn't call this


constructive at all. Sounds more like the ramblings of a Daily Fail reader with that license fee reference.

Why? If what you wrote wasn't inflammatory they won't ban you. Perhaps they felt that in the soap thread it could lead to inflammatory posts.

It's an opinion on a public discussion forum. How on EARTH is it not acceptable on a forum which discusses celebrity's surgery and all manner of random topics?

Clashing Emmerdale with EastEnders is nothing new. It's been going on since the mid-90s.

The challenge Emmerdale faces is to maintain and improve on its current ratings, which will always be difficult given the slot it is in. From what I've seen, I'm actually surprised it's holding up as well as it is, as the stories currently playing build on things established last year or before - and none of them have the scale or the magnitude the 'killer Cameron' story does. When EE bounces back - and it will, despite what the naysayers on here claim - it will have a much tougher fight on its hands ... so it better have some massive stories lined up before the end of this month.

When you think about it though BBC1 already have a 5m rating show against The X Factor with Antiques Roadshow. They must be thinking The Paradise can improve on those figures. But can it?