Six episodes of Life Story according to this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p026vg04/episodes/guide

If it's set for Thursday, then 23rd October, but could go Monday or Sunday as well. Given that it's already being advertised and Thursday is the earliest open slot, I'd say that is the likeliest place for it.

So The Great Fire needs to pull in a strong rating 5-6m and be a strong series to ensure it doesn't do a Titanic.

Personally I can't see TGF being anything special ratings wise, more in the 4-5m range. However ratings are unpredictable so it could go either way.

Viacom step up promotional links across newly expanded portfolio: Gotham series promo in rotation on the pay channels; Comedy Central's Give Out Girls (coming soon) trailed on C5 directly before Wentworth Prison.

Only just noticed. The Driver posted a pretty poor rating last night and below the all important 5m mark. The season of disappointing drama ratings continue for BBC1.

Took longer than I thought but FOX have finally exiled Utopia to Fridays, Gordon Ramsey to the rescue: http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/201...utopia/309584/

Just seen that Trust Me, I'm a Doctor, which did rather well for BBC Two last year, will return on Wednesday 15th October, 8pm. Against Waterloo Road and Celebrity Squares, I can see it doing very well again.

I saw a trailer which made it look a bit Carry On with the effects looking nothing special - but unfair to judge it beforehand. Thursday seems a strange slot though if they thought it was any good.

It is however another excellent drama on BBC1. Its a shame these shows aren't finding the audience they perhaps deserve.


Indeed the only thing surprising about this is that it took them this long. Not that I imagine Junior Masterchef is going to do much to reverse Fox's fortunes. It should pull some better numbers at 8PM but New Girl and The Mindy Project both seem beyond help at this point. Its unfortunate really because after two progressively worse seasons New Girl has suddenly become the fun little show it was during its first season.

May I politely suggest that the patrons of your shop are not representative of the country as a whole.

Just watched Our Zoo. I'm am loving this series. Oh I do hope the BBC commission a 2nd series. Forget the ratings just focus on producing quality drama.

It is the puzzle of the year for me as this is a perfectly executed drama. But it is also absolutely 100% in the wrong slot. Everyone can see that.

You can only inherit an audience IF that audience sticks around and is suited to the show coming up next.

Are the demographics of GBBO and Our Zoo similar? Not sure too many families watch it together.

The key has to be that Our Zoo just isn't a 9 pm show for midweek. It had to be earlier and at weekend when families can watch together and when its totally old fashioned non threatening easy feel type of storytelling is most appreciated.

I bet Heartbeat would not get its potential audience at 9 pm midweek, too.

Radio Times has every single week said pretty much this (almost as often and doubtless annoyingly repetitive as myself and several others on this thread have done). You can sense they are equally frustrated that a show that really should be a big hit is just doing okay.

In previewing next week's final episode (different reviewer this week) they say: 'It's the last episode of the series, but viewers have enjoyed its warm-heartedness - like Call the Midwife with animals - so let's hope it gets a second series.'

They also carry two letters describing it as a 'wonderful series' and one that they were 'really enjoying'.

This kind of praise as you are seeing on here is out there and the disconnect between the raw ratings and the love for the show is really odd. That's why there is so much belief that the slot has to be a prime factor.

If these reflect the AI figures for Our Zoo then I cannot imagine the BBC will not renew it regardless of its lacklustre raw data. They exist to make quality family drama and pretty much everyone who has watched is telling them they have succeeded.

I hope this is true, because the other conclusion is tough to take. That those of us loving this well acted, easy going and typically British show, are in the minority in this day and age and our country has changed in what I would regard as for the worse.

Hence, I think, why so many of us 'hope' it is primarily the wrong slot that explains why Our Zoo is not doing a couple of million better than it is.

Havent seen a trailer, but I agree, many dramas have struggled/died on Thursdays and I had it in mind this was going to be pushed as event tv. History that far back is rarely audience grabbing though and basically the fire would have to be the star-the effects need to be top notch. If they are not, they run the risk of becoming a bit of a joke.

Our Zoo appears to have fallen victim to the BBC being entirely unsure on how to schedule opposite the X Factor and Downton Abbey combo on ITV. Its not the first show to get hit with this problem and I doubt it'll be the last. Like The Paradise a couple of years ago its a show so clearly made for Sunday night that the BBC just can't or won't air on Sunday night because it would mean it going against The X Factor or Downton Abbey. The irony being that they schedule shows that would probably play better during the week opposite Downton. I can't for the life of me imagine they commissioned By Any Means for a Sunday night run and yet last year that's exactly where they put it and I'm not convinced Our Girl was taken to series with a Sunday night run planned. Its such awkward scheduling and they must surely recognise that its not working but by the same token would Our Zoo have held up as counter scheduling to The X Factor Sunday nights at 8?

Although in the BBC's defence I can kind of see how they might have convinced themselves that Our Zoo would work on Wednesday night. On paper it feels like it could match-up with Bake-Off quite nicely. It feels a bit like a Sunday mid-week bit of scheduling but it clearly hasn't worked the way they would have wanted it to. I'm also not sure they have a better lead out for Bake-Off at this point. Our Girl and The Driver both would have felt quite jarring in the slot I suspect. The Driver in particular. They should probably look into finding something that will sit more comfortably mid-week alongside Bake-Off next year. That may be the slot where they should launch a potential New Tricks replacement.


Where else could they have put it though?

Sunday night is taken. Monday night has rightly gone to the potential returnable series. Tuesday isn't an option. Wednesday would have put it against The Apprentice. Friday feels like the worst night possible for a big event series. Saturday out The X Factor would have pushed it into horribly late slots and not been the best use of their ad allocations. Although I suppose if they could get away with it pre-watershed Saturday before The X Factor and opposite Strictly would have been interesting scheduling. But Thursday really seems like their only option unless they pushed it to the Christmas/New Year period I suppose.

It sometimes only takes a couple of episodes for a drama to suddenly break through the ratings once the audience finds it its off and running. I haven't watched "Our Zoo" either as it wasnt for me, but love "The Great British Bake Off" so the crossover to it appears not to be there. In fact it was only when I looked at the trails I thought it had many elements of a runaway winner drama. But I wonder if it should have been launched on the nearest Sunday to Christmas and run from there until "Call The Midwife" returned as this may have captured more ratings for it. Its one of their more expensive dramas so I guess will need to justify the costs, as I think maybe "Upstairs Downstairs" had to. Anne Reid also appears in both period dramas so blame her!!!

It's obvious with hindsight to say Our Zoo is badly scheduled, but I can totally see the logic in it being scheduled where it was. Its just a gamble that hasnt paid off.

A bit cross Freeeview made me retune again only about 3 weeks after the last one, still all the old empty 70 and 80 numbered children and news channels are gone and Action has moved to 70 .

Still I suppose Nash Bridges might be worth watching heh

Totally agree H. and lets not forget the BBC can and should take a more relaxed attitude to ratings - not everything is going to be absolutely massive ratings wise anyway. Still dont understand why it has not rated at least 1m more. Everyone at work talks about it.

I take it last night Chicago Pd was the second part of a 2 part crossover with Chicago fire, always love to miss part 1 of a 2 part story (sarcasm mode), still I suppose the viewers of whatever Channel that shows Fire must be even more seething at missing part 2.

Our girl was axed before it started as now Lacey Turner is back in Eastenders full time giving her 3 months of every year to film our girl would be difficult.
And of course British troops leave very soon and the series is modern set.

Sam Hodges ‏@Sam_Hodges now
Whopping peak of 9.7m for #GreatBritishBakeOff, averaging 8.8m. The highest rating show of the day across all channels. #GBBO

UK TV Ratings ‏@TVRatingsUK 57s57 seconds ago
#TheGreatBritishBakeOff hit a new all time high last night with a mighty 8.82m/38.6% tuning in for the semi final. @BritishBakeOff

GET IN THERE!

Could we see a 10 million average or peak next week? Hmm.

I can definitly see a peak of over 10m next week with the average around 9.5m

I imagine this will be Bake-Off's peak series, so they better make the most of it.

I wonder whether Extra Slice increased by switching to Wednesday instead of Friday. Although it aired at 10pm, rather than directly after the show.

UK TV Ratings ‏@TVRatingsUK 17s18 seconds ago
At 9pm #OurZoo drew 4.50m/20.8%, an increase of 470k. ITV's #ScottAndBailey averaged 4.19m/19.4%.

Channel 4 Press ‏@C4Press 3m3 minutes ago
#ThePaedophileHunter averaged 1.4m/ 9.5% share on Channel 4 at 10pm last night. Highest share of 16-34 year old viewers in its slot - 15.3%

Last week it dropped to 1.2m being moved to Wednesday from the previous Friday's 2.6m