Is it on YouTube yet?

I think the Cilla Black tribute show affected it last night. Probably would have been on a par with last year's launch, otherwise.

6.4m ED quite low for such a big ep, and EE not as low as I'd thought, was thinking 3m ish.

I wouldn't be surprised to see NT av up on last year. Let's not forget, New Tricks this year is in the cushy Tuesday 9pm slot. No ITV competition at all.

Yes, with a laughable big stunt and 30 min head start of course

Can't wait to watch. GBBO - something good to watch at last

Yes, I think it could creep up a bit this year.

I thought it was brilliant.

And you said in a thread Emmerdale would get 5.5-6.0m, so how can you say 6.4m is disappointing?

EE was never going to get 3 million.

Possibly, although last year it launched against Long Lost Family which got a similar audience (and probably profile).

Nonetheless I think it might hold up better this year as ITV don't tend to put much on Tuesdays. Having said that, maybe this year will be different with there being no Champions League? There's no reason why they couldn't put a drama on Tuesdays instead of Wednesdays or Thursdays, although odds are they won't.

Is Benidorm a comedy drama? Or a sitcom stretched out to an hour?

I suppose we might see a few random things (e.g. drama!) popping up on Tuesday nights this year. Squeezing X Factor in around the rugby might cause knock on effects for other nights.

I'd say probably an hour long sitcom. Especially as it started out as a 30 minute show.

Wonder if BBC1 will do a autumn preview just before Great British Bake Off tonight?

ITV have tried a couple, Great Night Out and Edge of Heaven, but with little success.

I don't think X Factor will cause any drama issues. I think the plan is to just run a longer Sunday X Factor in the weeks where there are Saturday rugby matches (4 or 5 consecutive weeks). There aren't any Sunday night rugby games so it should be neat enough.

I do think the rugby might lead to some slightly different scheduling though. Fridays and Saturdays are the main rugby nights but there also one or two matches on each of Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights (no Sunday or Monday night rugby). Plus there are, I think, 4 primetime England football games this Autumn (one on a Monday, two on Tuesdays and one on a Friday I think). Throw in I'm A Celebrity and scheduling nearly 50 hours of drama is a pretty difficult task! Hence why some of it might end up on Tuesdays as that might be the only way to fit it all in without series being repeatedly disrupted.

And if anyone thought otherwise then they are an idiot. EastEnders normal episode couldn't compete with a hyped up big week just the same as EastEnders 30th beat Emmerdale by a fair few million in the 15 minute clash back in Feb

It sounds like tricky scheduling for Bergg. I can see a few hour-long Emmerdales and displaced Coronation Sts popping up.

New Tricks will probably be in the top 10 rated shows of the week. Not the powerhouse it was but still a questionable decision in my view to axe it given that a large number of licence fee payers seem to still enjoy it....

A bit left field, but perhaps ITV should consider picking it up. Good raw numbers, demos that are probably no worse than something like Midsomer Murders or Grantchester (with higher overnights than both I believe) and clear repeat potential on multi-channel...I'd imagine it would turn a healthy profit over time.

Didn't Benidorm start out as a half hour show then became an hour long show?

So can I. It might be more difficult than normal to avoid with various displacements. I wonder if some of the extra Summer episodes have been to make up for lost Autumn episodes?

Zoe Ball said on radio two this morning that the first celebrity for Strictly will be announced on Monday.

Remember though that 10 matches are going to be broadcast on ITV4.

Looking at the full list of 20:00 kick offs:

Friday 18th September - England vs Fiji
Saturday 19th September - France vs Italy
Wednesday 23th September - France vs Romania
Thursday 24th September - New Zealand vs Namibia
Saturday 26th September - England vs Wales
Thursday 1st October - France vs Canada
Friday 2nd October - New Zealand vs Georgia
Saturday 3rd October - England vs Australia
Tuesday 6th October - Fiji vs Uruguay
Wednesday 7th October - Namibia vs Georgia
Friday 9th October - New Zealand vs Tonga
Saturday 10th October - England vs Uruguay
Sunday 11th October - USA vs Japan
Saturday 17th October - Quarter Final
Friday 30th October - Bronze Final

I think we can deduct from the above that the following will air on ITV4:

Wednesday 23th September - France vs Romania
Thursday 24th September - New Zealand vs Namibia
Thursday 1st October - France vs Canada
Friday 2nd October - New Zealand vs Georgia
Tuesday 6th October - Fiji vs Uruguay
Wednesday 7th October - Namibia vs Georgia
Friday 9th October - New Zealand vs Tonga

France vs Italy is a high-profile match and considering they have the Six Nations next year, it'd make no sense to move it to ITV4, whilst USA vs Japan is the last game of the group stages.

However, there are also several games scheduled for 16:45 kick-off:

Saturday 19th September - South Africa vs Japan
Wednesday 23rd September - Australia vs Fiji
Friday 25th September - Argentina vs Georgia
Saturday 26th September - South Africa vs Samoa
Sunday 27th September - Ireland vs Romania
Tuesday 29th September - Tonga vs Namibia
Thursday 1st October - Wales vs Fiji
Saturday 3rd October - South Africa vs Scotland
Sunday 4th October - Ireland vs Italy
Tuesday 6th October - Canada vs Romania
Wednesday 7th October - South Africa vs USA
Saturday 10th October - Australia vs Wales
Sunday 11th October - France vs Ireland

Weekend games will stay on ITV, as will the weekday home fixtures. Combining the above lists brings you down to...

Potential ITV4 Fixtures - RWC
1. Wednesday 23rd September - Australia vs Fiji (16:45)
2. Wednesday 23th September - France vs Romania (20:00)
3. Thursday 24th September - New Zealand vs Namibia (20:00)
4. Friday 25th September - Argentina vs Georgia (16:45)
5. Tuesday 29th September - Tonga vs Namibia (16:45)
6. Thursday 1st October - France vs Canada (20:00)
7. Friday 2nd October - New Zealand vs Georgia (20:00)
8. Tuesday 6th October - Canada vs Romania (16:45)
9. Tuesday 6th October - Fiji vs Uruguay (20:00)
10. Wednesday 7th October - South Africa vs USA (16:45)
11. Wednesday 7th October - Namibia vs Georgia (20:00)
12. Friday 9th October - New Zealand vs Tonga (20:00) - clashes with England football

I suspect Australia vs Fiji and South Africa vs USA will be the two games that air on ITV, bringing that list down the expected 10 that will air on ITV4. In terms of weekday primetime, the Rugby World Cup shouldn't have too much of an impact on the schedules.

However, the 16:45 matches could have an impact on the news bulletins. I suspect they will just air the News beforehand with Emmerdale following straight afterwards.

Downton Abbey or a programme about benefits? Mm, tough call.

I expect so. There's an extra Coronation St at 8pm on Thursday 20th August, with an hour of Emmerdale before it. EastEnders has moved to 8.30, against Flockstars.

Thanks for the fixtures, D.M.N.