I just wanted to comment on three programmes that aired yesterday and tonight. Firstly Panorama. Blooming hell it was disturbing viewing and whilst sometimes I feel prejudiced and angry towards young offenders as they can have attitudes that suggest they don't care about anyone other than themselves, I found this programme extremely terrifying. For the first time it made me realise how vulnerable some of these young men were and it gave genuine reasons why they behave the way they do. Then to see them being bullied and beaten up by their so called protectors was upsetting. If you haven't seen it, watch it on iPlayer. It will leave you open mouthed and saddened.

Secondly, Benidorm. Way too many over analyse this programme. Time and time again you see comments like "It is getting silly now. Should have axed it long ago. It's nowhere near as good as it used to be." Well, I would argue that it has always been totally daft and OTT and some episodes are not as good as others but, and here's the thing, it has never pretended to be anything other than what it is. It is just a fun and bonkers way to while away an hour without having to think or absorb intellect. You get a nice bit of Spanish sunshine in your home on a dark January evening too. It has never been Shakespeare, it has never been hilarious, it has never been gritty and thrilling. It is just a daft and enjoyable bit of telly. I think people should just watch it for what it is and not try and compare it to what came before.

Finally, tonights EastEnders. Wow, wow and wow. When EastEnders does things right it does them very right. The rawness and the emotion - and the natural and believable dialogue was absolutely outstanding. It deserves high ratings. I hope it gets them.

I don't recall ever criticising BB in this thread before (or even posting about it at all actually). Also hardly off topic as the discussion of programme content is basically what this thread does 90% of the time anyway. I think creating entertainment out of someone's grief is in bad taste.

Celebrity Big Brother. Oddest episode and unintentionally hilarious. Anyone who followed David Bowie surely will know he would be laughing up there with the David Gest mix up. He always had a brilliant sense of humour. He's probably thinking 'what a bunch of muppets!'

It's reassuring to know that my illogical hatred for Tom Bradby has proved to be justified.

A face you'd love to slap.

Can't see any problem having the draw on The One Show. The FA must be pleased getting such a rating just for the draw.

Exactly but it seems this sort of daft silly programming isn't allowed anymore and is there is a certain snobbery about stuff like this.

Regarding over analysis of sitcoms, can you imagine if the Internet had been around during the life of Only Fools and Horses

Don't like Uncle Albert, show needs axing now
Don't like Raquel and Casandra, they should be axed
Etc etc

Talking about Open All Hours, and how many have commented it is basically Last of the Summer Wine style scripting in an Open All Hours setting. Seaside postcard gags about old men and battle axe ladies etc.

LOTSW was axed due to falling viewing figures. Do we think if they'd held out for a few more years, and it was that that was now airing in the Countryfile/Antiques sandwich, which didn't exist at the time, it would also be getting 7m viewers?

And I wasn't meaning to single you out, just making the point that every conversation about the show in here ultimately goes the same way, so I won't be partaking any further in conversations regarding the content of the show, a relief to everyone I'm sure.

It's the most controversial show on the telly, has been for years and years. It's now airing on the least popular major network, which is a threat to the Ratings Thread favourite ITV's audience share if it can build a sound entertainment strategy around it. So never going to be anything other than deeply unpopular in here.

Given the steeper than expected ratings decline for this series to date, now becoming a trend after the summer run was down, it may not be a problem for much longer anyway.

Disappointing for Gotham last night. I wanted to see it break 1m exc +1. I know things went wrong last season after the midseason break - but it feels like it should be doing better than it's doing. The first series averaged 1.97m (inc +1: 2.27m) in the consolidated numbers. Hopefully it will timeshift well.

Corrie and Emmerdale both hit last night by the Bowie tribute and that One Show rating. Probably knocked about 0.5m off both.

Good start for Benidorm. 5.1m including +1 is decent against the ever reliable Silent Witness.

I try not to analyse Benidorm because it would mean watching it.

The internet would say Uncle Albert was better than Grandad and Raquel & Cassandra weren't the greatest Only Fools characters. And the internet would be right!

Still Open All Hours is an insult to Open All Hours.

Genuinely great behind the scenes piece on Lip Sync Battle UK on Broadcast by the way.

If anyone's interested in what this was like to put together, the many challenges they faced before and during filming etc, then I recommend it. In fact anyone with an interest in the TV production process will like this article:

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/featur...ontentID=43659

Sure to be down I would think on Friday, with First Dates competing for the same demo on C4, but hopefully it can stay above 1.2m at least.

But, if you haven't watched Benidorm how do you know what it's like?
Uncle Albert was better than Grandad. Raquel and Cassandra were perfectly fine as characters and actually lengthened the life of the show. I regard Still Open All Hours and Open All Hours as two different shows, the latter being just a bit of harmless fun that, like Benidorm, doesn't need to be taken too seriously.

I don't know why some posters were surprised about Benidorm holding up. It usually does. Has a loyal fanbase against tough opposition. Corrie at 8.30pm didn't have that much competition and dipped. I think there were less viewers around. They were there for the news though because of Bowie's death.

Roscoe do you know what final rating episode 1 of Beowulf got?

I've prepared a Bradby Bingo card for future interviews/articles:

* BBC.
* Huw Edwards.
* Distinctive.
* Ratings.
* Prince William.
* Analysis.
* Relaunch.
* Fresh.
* Revamp.
* Human.
* Prince William. Again.

Of course that is also probably a check sheet the interviewees have to ask the right questions, to get juicy material to sell papers.

Works for both parties, sells papers and increases Bradby's exposure. A bit like every time Katie Hopkins is asked about anything.

Unfortunately I don't. I've posted all the additional numbers I have that haven't appeared on BARB this week.

I have seen bits of Benidorm. It's this generation's Duty Free except you really are abroad. I have seen a few episodes and stopped. It was better when it was just half an hour.

Raquel and Cassandra were blander than milk. Nobody will say they're great Only Fools characters. Anybody that does probably thinks Mindy was the comedic driving Force in Mork & Mindy. Last great series of Only Fools in 89 before Raquel moved in and Rodney moped around about Cassandra. Lost freshness and sharpness when their parts were increased. Only Fools was at its best with all the boys together and Marlene. The Jolly Boys Outing basically. The episodes when they returned after the 96 trilogy showed up how much of a hole was left without Uncle Albert and Mike. You wouldn't miss Raquel or Cassandra.

Open All Hours was a BAFTA nominated sitcom with Ronnie Barker at the peak of his powers. Still Open All Hours is Aldi Open All Hours. Trading off the goodwill of the original and treading water. It's not a great sitcom or a good one. It's a comfy pair of old slippers. Well it's shit really.

So to sum up, A comfy pair of old shit slippers.

Juicy material my arse. They are tossers, showing they are tossers by being tossers in interviews, giving answers that make them come across as tossers because THEY ARE TOSSERS!

You have to remember that a tosser will always be a tosser. Katie Hopkins and Tom Bradby are tossers.

Benidorm probably works in the same way as Death in Paradise does, a bit of summer weather to brighten up winter evenings.

Plus the setting means you can bring in new characters constantly, and if they don't work you don't have to write them out, they just don't come on holiday again next year. Those that do work, and have more to give, do come back again. Then you ensure you retain at least a few of the regulars to keep some kind of history going. Plus it's all very daft and slapstick and you get the cameo roles every now and then.

You get those viewers who watch as it reminds them of their own holidays, and those who watch as it reminds them of why they don't go on those types of holidays.

Pretty much.

And I don't want those slippers or Still Open All Hours in my home!

I Think that you might be onto something there, They do not seem to construct a whole evening of quality and varied entertainment like they used to. So there is little hope of viewers settling down for the whole evening in front of ITV.

This.

I can no longer watch the 1991 series of OFAH. It lacks something and I can't think what. Too serious? I don't know, but everytime those episodes appear on UK Gold (ha) I turn off. The dynamic changed. And the final 3 specials? Nope. The magic had gone for me. I also preferred Grandad than Uncle Albert, not by much though. The Wendy house line from series 3 is comedy genius

I'm struggling to continue watching Still Open All Hours. Ok its harmless Sunday night fare, and I adore the original, but its not good at all. And its such a shame because so much more could be done with it.

Benidorm though I do enjoy even though the 30 minute episodes were much better.

I love every episode of OFAH. I see it, as a comfort comedy that when I come back from Uni, if I've had a bad day can watch and just forget. The Vicar Of Dibley is the same, Benidorm, Keeping Up Apprearances, Fawlty Towers, Some Mothers Do Ave' Em, Terry & June, Barbara etc

I prefer classic comedies even if their naff (Terry & June), to modern ones. I never watch Ch4 comedies because I just do not find them appealing. I only watch comedy on BBC1 and ITV. And there are very few current comedies I enjoy now. Only Benidorm on ITV is my favourite, BOAF is 'ok' but not special. On BBC1 I enjoyed Car Share, MBB is watchable and that's about it.

What gets me - unless the Evening Standard are "embellishing the facts" here - is that Bradby went to the extreme of personally lobbying John Whittiingdale, David Cameron and George Osborne in an attempt to get them to influence the BBC to shift their ten o'clock bulletin.

I know this will be an odd request but does anybody know what ratings Tales of the City received on Channel 4 back in 1993? It initially aired beginning on September 28, 1993. The BARB website only goes back to 1998.