Lets not forget Little and Large were a success over many years for the BBC (they actually had a couple of decent rating series for Thames before moving to the BBC). They probably got a bit more flak than they actually deserve given that millions of people did tune in over a decade or more. The link as replacements for Morecambe and Wise would have been unfair for anyone in truth.
I didn't dislike them, I can remember an early sketch doing Summer Nights from Grease that had me in fits-Sid as Olivia Newton John has to be seen to be believed.

The BBC were angry with the loss of Morecambe and Wise and Bruce Forsyth. Yet for all Eric and Ernie got very good ratings for their first two Thames shows, they were an absolute bore to watch and the infamous 1979 Christmas special saw viewers turn over in droves to BBC 1. They did pick up a bit when Eddie Braben rejoined them in 1980, but the quality was never the same and their ratings slipped.
As for Bruce Forsyth, he had his infamous Big Night, which ironically struggled against Larry Grayson's Generation Game, and Bruce went quiet for over a year until he found a massive hit with Play Your Cards Right.
Little and Large did OK, but they certainly weren't up there with The Two Ronnies, whose shows continued to entertain 17 million viewers a week as the scriptwriting was so good. Also Les Dawson's transfer to the BBC was a huge success in 1978 as some of his shows pulled in 19 million viewers.

It's a waste of the Bake Off lead-in. I can only assume that a drama is starting in September.

I have always wondered if Bake off would do better if it was on a Sunday at 8pm with Countryfile on before it at 6pm with Antiques Roadshow at 7pm and a drama at 9pm. I am sure BBC 1 would win a lot more viewers for the 9pm slot

Clive James said in a programme that BBC1 went from a big number of viewers with Morecambe & Wise to a slightly less big number of viewers with Little & Large. They were very popular for many years. I remember their Grease spoof very well and it made me laugh as a kid and made me laugh when I saw it a few years back as an adult. Little & Large weren't going to win BAFTAs but they did get an audience. A mainstream light entertainment audience that many in TV turn their noses up at today.

Morecambe & Wise going to Thames was popular initially but they were older and didn't have Eddie Braben at the start so their shows weren't a patch on their BBC work. I think The Two Ronnies stayed consistently strong from their 70s start into the 80s. Some of their most memorable sketches were in in the 80s like The Worm That Turned serial, swear box and the legendary Mastermind sketch. And they were still nominated for Best Light Entertainment Programme at The BAFTA Awards in the 80s, something Eric & Ernie never matched with their Thames run.

I'm trying to imagine what BBC One would do if they aired it on an autumn Sunday, with Countryfile at 6.20pm, Strictly at 7.20pm and Bake Off at 8pm. That would be a very strong schedule. But would leave the summer even more barren.

On Sunday in the Autumn Bake Off would be far more exposed. It would probably hold up well opposite The X Factor but wouldn't get the highs it does now. X Factor can still pull in viewers.

Having Bake Off in Autumn would not work since it's such a Summery show. Having it in August even seems a bit off but I guess they can't have it in July unless they made if live or something.

I suppose against X Factor both shows would be around 7m

They would lose Antiques Roadshow if they did but I suppose it wouldnt be the full 10 weeks it would be off maybe just 5 weeks

Wouldn't be good for either of them.

The Scientology doc sounds interesting, the Benefits docs will sadly do well.

Johnny Ammonds, their old BBC producer, did eventually join them at Thames with Eddie Braben. But Eric was not in the best of health by then and it limited what they could do.Rather strangely they explained the move by saying Thames was prepared to make a feature film with them (Night Train to Murder), something that had never been mentioned at the BBC.Their last Thames programme aired on December 26, 1983 with guests including Derek Jacobi, Nigel Hawthorne, Felicity Kendal and Burt Kwouk.

I did not think we were going to go down this road again after last year. Any program that follows GBBO is highly unlikely to hold onto the majority of the audience and will be immediately criticised on here because it hasnt.
I agree it seems a waste but it happens to nearly every other show following a big rater on all channels.

Morecambe & Wise were eventually reunited with Braben and Ammonds but they couldn't recapture past glories. Age and Eric's ill health meant that they couldn't do some of the more physical or energetic dance scenes or sketches anymore. Instead you saw lots of their old BBC sketches being reworked for their ITV run, good for a smile but sometimes down a bit slower.

Also back then as Thames were the weekday London franchise it meant that if Christmas Day fell on the weekend that they wouldn't be on. Something Eric alluded to in one of their later Christmas shows. I still watched but it wasn't a patch on their BBC years or what The Two Ronnies were doing in the 80s.

Not necessarily, it's that they haven't found the right show.

When American Idol was at its peak, Fox tried all sorts of shows after it to hold onto some of the ratings like their big drama 24 and nothing worked. Then they put House there and struck gold, held onto more of the Idol lead-in than any other show and it turned House into a hit.

When programmes are compatible the programme that follows a big hit tends to keep a lot of the viewers. Downton following X Factor at the start gave it a massive boost in the ratings.

Sunday ratings are in:

UK TV ratings: David Walliams' Partners in Crime wraps up its first adventure with 4.5m

Partners in Crime wrapped up its first three-part adventure with 4.49m (22.9%) on BBC One, according to overnight figures for Sunday (August 9).

The figure was down around half a million on the number who tuned in to see episode two of the David Walliams series last week.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/...pkXecAEmJRXWms

Ben Fogle's series is doing well for Channel 5, but a repeat last night at 19:00 could only muster 170k (1.0%) exc +1. I think someone pointed out before that it's bad scheduling to pitch it against Countryfile.

Pretty bad apart from Countryfile

On Sky listings (I don't know if Freeview was affected), Ben Fogle: New Lives In The Wild was still billed as Cricket On 5 even though the Ashes test had finished. This may explain the low rating as very few people using the Sky TV Guide will have discovered it as it was billed as something else.

Also the EPG wasn't updated and still listed Ashes cricket highlights so most viewers wouldn't have known Ben Fogle's New Lives was on instead,

Shame about partners in crime, I hope it stops falling, as I love it, give a second series a winter slot

Surprised at how far Partners in Crime has fallen as I thought it had been received pretty well. It's still a decent rating at this level but they'll want it to stop bleeding. Dismal night for ITV but with that schedule what did they expect? I suspect Midsomer is repeating even worse than usual as they are repeating episodes that were only aired for the first time this February. It's too soon.


It is horrible scheduling. At least it's a repeat, unlike ITV who are airing a a new nature show against Countryfile in what has to be one of the worst scheduling decisions of the year.

Down 2 million from episode 1. Will Partners In Crime keep falling?

Another fantastic rating for Dragons Den there too, it seems to be on fire at the moment.