"Line of Duty" was considered for BBC one mainstream audience according to executive Simon Heath but said if it were not for the resurgence of BBC TWO drama it probably would have been "a non starter", he does say there wasn't a big difference in money between the two BBC channels but BBC one has more money for bigger star casting. The BBC made the ultimate decisions on all casting for "Line of Duty" and were attracted originally to an idea to a returnable series that had a star name per series and a less well known supporting cast.

Jed Mercurio also says that BBC executives looked carefully on audience figures and he was challenged on the identity of "Bodies" he has been largely left alone on "Line of Duty" because it was a bigger ratings hit. So the creative freedoms on a writer are dependant on the audience figures.

There was edginess from the BBC that this was a police series investigating police and also was part of the reason it ended up on smaller channel BBC TWO.

I agree, I think that the week off will damage the Musketeers ratings.

The week off may serve some purpose for the BBC however, in that the rating it gets tonight, maybe perhaps an indication of how low the ratings are likely to go. Whoever returns to watch it this week are probably now in it for the long term.

Harriet Rhodes ‏@hl_rhodes 4m
Very proud of the @BBCTheVoiceUK team - a peak of 9.2 million on #bbcone - biggest show of the night

Mark Jefferies ‏@mirrorjeffers 5m
The Voice takeaway top ratings for Saturday. 7.3m average on BBC1 whilst @antanddec return on ITV with 6.5m in same slot.

I suspect SNT will time-shift well, since I imagine many recorded the advert filled programme.

As expected really. The Voice could do really well this season if the battles hold up next week. I wonder what lead in rating SNT had last night and how it did throughout the evening.

Not an unexpected result really. Thought Takeaway might perhaps be slightly higher, but looking back, it got 7.1m against Let's Dance last year for its launch, so 6.5m against much tougher competition isn't a bad result at all. I'd hardly call it 'struggling'. The Voice held up well with a nice peak at the end. Both sides should be relatively pleased with those ratings. ITV might be slightly disappointed but really the rating itself is perfectly good. In reality it was always the underdog going into this for a variety of reasons, mainly given that it normally rates around 7m, and Voice normally does about 8m without the other on air.

It'll be interesting to see what happens going forwards. The Voice should drop from here, although the much longer running time will cushion its average so it ma still average higher than Takeaway over the next few weeks, but Takeaway will probably win the clash period.

I think we're more likely to find that out when the CTM lead in goes and its lef with an Antiques Roadshow lead in.

Totally off topic I know, but who would have thought that this would make a come back. I seem to recall the ratings fell off a cliff both in the US (NBC) and here (BBC2).

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/ustv/s1/...h-preview.html

I wouldn't speak to soon in that SNT will struggle - last night The Voice was trailed as final audition show (and we know this is the part that rates well), many probably tuned in to watch it. I suspect and put my neck on the line that TV will drop 500k next week and Takeaway will rise 500k.

Delighted the Voice beat SNT - for one thing was a great episode of the Voice - they need to do a lot of promotion next week though for Battle Rounds - there was no recap of who's got who, no real taste of things to come, no explanation of the steal - it needed a few less contestants (maybe lad in vest who didn't offer much) and more of a build up to next week.

As I said in another thread - SNT was poor last night - the opening was long, drawn out, ITV indulgent and a rip off of James Corden's Comic Relief idea, the aerial challenge was dull, the end of the show show was uninspiring, the couple who got randomly chosen seemed ringers and the only really good part of the show was more down to Eamon and Ruth. Have said it before that there are no better presenters/funny men on TV than Ant and Dec when they do their reality shows but they struggle with these scripted formats.

Lets say for argument's sake that The Voice would've dropped 500k next week in the same 7-8.30pm slot. But the extra 40mins next week between 8.30-9.10pm may well boost the average and negate the drop that battle rounds normally have. I wouldn't be so confident TVUK will drop, the BBC have been inspired with their scheduling.

Decent for The Voice, never was a fan of Ant Dec but still pulling in the numbers.. .Hopefully viewers stick with The Voice next week.

Both shows have done well and will probably continue to do so no need for any more editorial than that really.

Yet again it proves that social media "buzz" doesn't necessarily equate to higher ratings. And is it just me or has the font changed when I type?

Have to say even with my BBC leanings Samuels smugness this morning is a bit OTT. Still he will probably get his comeuppance tommorow when Musketeers ratings come in.

Its good to have a Saturday with two well rated shows for a change.

Here's my rough Voice projection for next week:

- No rugby direct or in-direct lead-in: in previous weeks rugby has boosted the Voice to 8.4m compared to 7.6m or so without it,a boost of 0.8m. Yesterday as rugby didnt directly lead-in into the Voice, its effect probably wasnt as much as 0.8m, maybe around 0.4m of a boost was due to rugby/highly-inflated Pointless. So lets' say next week The Voice will automatically drop 0.4m due to no rugby enhanced BBC1 viewing. Now down to 6.9m.

- Battle stage instead of blind audition: in previous two series, the first battle episode has rated about 0.6million lower than the final blind audition. Let's say that happens next week. Now down to 6.3m.

- 40 more minutes not against SNT: this is going to help the Voice next week. The period from 8.30-9.10pm could rate around 9m+ which will inflate the average. Let's say for argument's sake, it inflates it by about 0.5m than what would've been the case if the Voice just aired between 7-8.30pm. That means the Voice would now be projecting at 6.8m.

Therefore next week The Voice will be looking at an average rating of around 6.8m or so, down 0.5m from last night. SNT will pick up about 50% of those 0.5m which will take it up to around 6.3/6.4m [excl +1]. It'll be closer next week but the Voice may well stay ahead even for its battle auditions stage. Many will be surprised that TVUK won so convincingly last night and this convincing win will help it going forward into the lesser-liked rounds.

It changed when they updated the site but that was a while ago.

The Voice where I thought it would be and a good win for it. Takeaway a bit lower but both shows will take that for now I suspect. Next week is tough to predict with the extended running time for The Voice, it obviously jumped massively when Takeaway finished and it will have far longer next week. Perhaps this is the plan to finally get a ratings rise for the battle rounds?

Really glad that the Voice held up well and won the night. Plus that's also a good figure for SNT as well.

The SNT rating is nothing to be sniffed at. It held up well against The Voice UK and it I am pleased to see two big shows (which are different) do well against each other.

I know Yorkie! But last night when I typed it was as if I was using a typewriter. This morning it has changed to the font used in the forums!

Maybe you need a new computer!!

Next Saturday The Voice is scheduled to run 1855-2110 with a Pointless Celebrities run-in, Ant and Dec 1900-2020 with a You've Been Framed run-in.

Very good scheduling by the Beeb. They got rid of the stinking turkey which was Reflex [only a 4% share last week] and have put in the OAP magnet which is Pointless which will get 20%+ share. YBF will be beat by 2 to 1. The head to head may be close between SNT and TVUK but the 50min free-run against the poorly rating Cube should give TVUK the ultimate win. Scheduling is an important part of Saturday night tv, bbc1 has got it spot on so far this year. Only thing they need to change next year for q1 weekends is to get rid of Musketeers and Blandings, while expanding Pointless Celebrities.