Thursday 11 February 2010

UK TV Chart (inc HD) - w/e 17th January 2010

Here's the rundown of the Top 20 most popular UK TV programmes or series for the week ending Sunday 17th January 2010 collated from information compiled and presented by BARB and now including HD figures for BBC1 programmes where the first run of an episode/edition is simultaneous with its non-HD transmission. This gives a fairer indication of how many people were watching the broadcast of an episode across the two simultaneous channels. Figures for ITV HD broadcasts are not currently available. Note that figures for multi-episode TV broadcasts (ie soaps or other shows with more than one episode per week) are rounded up into an average figure for the series and are denoted in the chart by * News broadcasts are excluded from the figures. HD indicates inclusion of available HD date.

Please note: This chart is subject to amendment as BARB have erroneously failed to supply any figures for BBC1 Saturday evening shows - hence no appearances by Casualty, In It To Win It or You Think You Can Dance. BARB are aware of the error and will update their figures in due course. This chart will also be amended to take account of the additional figures when they're available.

1) Coronation Street (ITV1)....................11.33 *
2) EastEnders (BBC1)...........................11.23 *
3) Emmerdale (ITV1).............................9.09 *
4) Dancing On Ice (ITV1)........................8.36 *
5) Silent Witness (BBC1)........................7.88 * HD
6) Wild At Heart (ITV1).........................7.81
7) Lark Rise To Candleford (BBC1)...............7.23 HD
8) (Hustle (BBC1)................................6.91 HD
8) (Countryfile (BBC1)...........................6.91 HD
10) Antiques Roadshow (BBC1).....................6.88 HD
11) Law and Order: UK (ITV1).....................6.51
12) Holby City (BBC1)............................6.36
13) The One Show (BBC1)..........................6.05 *
14) Survivors (BBC1).............................5.39 HD
15) All Star Mr and Mrs (ITV1)...................5.32
16) Wallender (BBC1).............................5.25 HD
17) FA Cup (ITV1, Weds)..........................4.86
18) Take Me Out (ITV1)...........................4.74
19) Best Of TV Burp (ITV1).......................4.71
20) (The Lakes (ITV1).............................4.68
20) (A Question of Sport (BBC1)...................4.68

BBC: 11 ITV: 10

UK TV Chart (inc HD figures) - w/e 10th January 2010

Here's the rundown of the Top 20 most popular UK TV programmes or series for the week ending Sunday 10th January 2010 collated from information compiled and presented by BARB and now including HD figures for BBC1 programmes where the first run of an episode/edition is simultaneous with its non-HD transmission. This gives a fairer indication of how many people were watching the broadcast of an episode across the two simultaneous channels. Figures for ITV HD broadcasts are not currently available. Note that figures for multi-episode TV broadcasts (ie soaps or other shows with more than one episode per week) are rounded up into an average figure for the series and are denoted in the chart by * News broadcasts are excluded from the figures. HD indicates incluusion of available HD date.

1) Coronation Street (ITV1).......................11.69 *
2) EastEnders (BBC1)..............................11.42 *
3) Emmerdale (ITV1)................................8.82 *
4) Wild At Heart (ITV1)............................8.53
5) Silent Witness (BBC1)...........................8.41 * HD
6) Dancing On Ice (ITV1)...........................8.38 *
7) Above Suspicion (ITV1)..........................7.72 *
8) Lark Rise To Candleford (BBC1)..................7.67 HD
9) Casualty (BBC1).................................7.24
10) So You THink You Can Dance (BBC1)...............7.13
11) Hustle (BBC1)...................................7.00 HD
12) Antiques Roadshow (BBC1)........................6.81 HD
13) Holby City (BBC1)...............................6.77
14) Celebrity Mastermind (BBC1).....................6.65 *
15) National Lottery: In It To Win It (BBC1)........6.50
16) Question of Sport (BBC1)........................6.49
17) Countryfile (BBC1)..............................6.42 HD
18) Wallender (BBC1)................................5.98 HD
19) All Star Mr and Mrs (ITV1)......................5.82
20) New You've Been Framed (ITV1)...................5.25

BBC: 13 ITV: 7

Monday 1 February 2010

UK TV Chart - w/e 3rd January 2010

Here - at long last!! - is the rundown of the Top 20 most popular UK TV programmes or series for the week ending Sunday 3rd January 2010 collated from information compiled and presented by BARB. Note that figures for multi-episode TV broadcasts (ie soaps or other shows with more than one episode per week) are rounded up into an average figure for the series and are denoted in the chart by * News broadcasts are excluded from the figures.


1) Dr Who: The End of Time Part 2 (BBC1)......................11.79
2) Gavin and Stacey (BBC1)....................................10.25
3) EastEnders (BBC1)..........................................10.21 *
4) Coronation Street (ITV1)....................................9.58 *
5) Total Wipeout Celebrity Special (BBC1)......................7.84
6) New Year Live (BBC1)........................................7.65
7) Casualty (BBC1).............................................7.59
8) So You Think You Can Dance? (BBC1)..........................6.70
9) Emmerdale (ITV1)............................................6.57 *
10) Day of the Triffids (BBC1)..................................6.47 *
11) Antiques Roadshow (BBC1)....................................6.33
12) Celebrity Big Brother Launch (C4)...........................6.28
13) Wallender (BBC1)............................................6.18
14) Top Gear (BBC2).............................................6.05
15) National Lottery: In It To Win It (BBC1)....................5.93
16) Countryfile (BBC1)..........................................5.92
17) Holby City (BBC1)...........................................5.70
18) Wallace and Grommit: A Matter of Loaf and Death (BBC1)......5.62
19) Agatha Christie's Marple (ITV1).............................5.55
20) Poirot (ITV1)...............................................5.52

BBC: 15 ITV: 4 C4: 1

Chart chat: Who'd have thought we'd ever see the day??? Two sci-fi titles top and tail the Top Ten chart in the Uk ratings!!! The spectacular David Tennant finale of Dr Who pulled in an impressive audience of just under 12 million on BBC1, with just under an extra half-million watching on BBC HD, giving a final figure of around 12.25m. The episode was easily the highest-rated first-run episode of the week although the episode of EastEnders which actually followed Dr Who that night pulled in just over 12 million but the show's average is dragged down by poorer-performing episodes during the week. A fitting end to the time of the tenth Doctor although, it must be noted, the figures are a bit less than those posted for the Christmas 2007 and 2008 episodes. However, the widespread availability of catch-up facilities - iplayer and various other services - means that viewers now have more ways of watching TV than they did even as recently as Christmas 2008 so any final tally, were it possible, would probably give the show the same or even higher figures than it reached on those two festive occasions. Wonderful to see the BBC's lavish adaptation of John Wyndham's 'Day of the Triffids' (DVD review due on 'World of Stuff' imminently) bag a decent audience in a potentially-difficult post-Christmas slot. The final episode of Gavin and Stacey logged its highest viewing figures ever; the BBC will be itching for more as their hit comedy cupboard is running very bare these days. ITV's festive woes continue with only the soaps maintaining a foothold in the Top 20 and two tired Agatha Christie detective dramas clinging onto the chart at poll position. C4 gain a rare slot with the launch of the final (yaaay!) Celebrity Big Brother; we won't see it in the chart again as ratings more than halved almost immediately. Decent enough start for BBC1's latest dancing show - figures have held steady and started dropping recently so it's hardly the big Saturday night hit the BBC might have hoped for. Otherwise in the chart old favourites sneak back in with a good figure for Casualty and warhorses Antiques Roadshow and Countryfile maintaining a strong BBC presence. Next week's chart (due later this week,hopefully) will see the return of Hustle and Lark Rise to the chart and it'll be interesting to see if ITV1 can improve on their dire Christams fortnight performance.

Wednesday 27 January 2010

TV Talk - Number 1

I think it's called 'sod's law'. I shift the UK TV ratings feature from my World of Stuff blog to give the ratings their own showcase in a dedicated blog - and BARB's ratings collection seems to have gone into hibernation with no new figures released for weeks and nothing since the week ending Decenmber 27th. There'll either be a massive update soon with three weeks worth of numbers being posted in a few days...or not. BNut this new blog isn't just about the numbers, it's about TV news and bits'n'pieces too, odds'n'dos gathered from the press and from around the Net and colelcted here as a handy one-sotp for all that's new in the world of creative TV. rememebr, no lists of contestants in the next series of Strictly here and not a word about who's in and who's out of Big Brother. I just don't care. Neither should you.

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First up this week some long-awaited news about the future of 'Primeval', ITV's cancelled/recommissioned Saturday night sci-fi drama. After performing fairly poorly in its 2009 series (but stll better than the dire and instantly-cancelled 'Demons'!)the show was dumped by ITV ong roudns of costs. During the summer the show's creators, Impossible Pictures, beavered away to try and find new finance for the show and in the autumn a new deal with BBC Worldwide/Watch (tiny digital station best knwon for axing Richard Judy last year when no-one watched their new chat show) was announced for the production of two new series (13 episodes in two blocks) to air next year. A few bits and peices have filtered on on what we can expect in the new run. It seems that Jason Flemyng, who stepped into the 'hero' role following the quitting of Douglas henshell three episodes into season three, has moved onto other projects during the production hiatus but has promised to return for three episodes during the series. The rest of the cast will return - including Ben Miller and the multi-talented Hannah Spearitt - and the first couple of episodes will resolve the cliffhanger from series three. Go on, I dare you to remember it! We're also promised more monstrous threats from the future rather than just the usual array of dinosaurs, spiders and other assorted beasties from the past.

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A couple of years ago the BBC announced the development of a new sci-fi show for BBC1. 'Outcasts' was being created, inevitably, at BBC Wales (where some other popular shows are currently made) and would chronicle the escapades of a bunch of convicts and ne'er-do-wells trying to eke out an existence on a hostile colony planet. Executive producer Julie Gardner promised us that the show would be about "what it means to be human" and nothing was heard of it again. Gardner's scvuttled off to BBC America now to develop new shows with former Dr Who showrunner Russell T Davies (including, allegedly, an American reboot of 'Torchwood'). 'Outcasts' has just resurfaced though, now announced as 'commissioned' and being produced by Kudos films. Kudos, of coruse, are the people bnehind 'Hustle', 'Life on Mars' and 'Spooks'. With 'Spooks' widely expected to be axed after its next (ninth) series, 'Outcasts', now retooled as a show about colonists struggling on a hostile world, could be an interesting replacement. With other recent genre shows either failing or underperforming on BBC1 - last year's dreary 'Paradox' has been axed and the second series of 'Survivors' is sadly struggling - it's good to see the Corporation keeping faith with the genre instead of just writing off Dr Who's extraordinary and ongoing success as just a fluke of format. TV World will keep you updated on the development of 'Outcasts' as and when...

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ABC in America has just announced that their glamour-drama-comedy 'Ugly Betty' currently airing its fourth series, will not return next year...'Supernatural', the hugely-popular US cult horror drama may return for a sixth season next year, despite having always been ear-marked for five series at best; ratings have been climbing this year so more episodes seem a safe bet...BBC1 has commissioned two further series of moody Norwegian detective drama 'Wallander' starring Kenneth Branagh. Series three will arrive at the tail end of this year....a new series of 'Waking the Dead' starring Trevor Eve has also been commissioned for BBC1, due to air in 2011...if you've not had your fill of the living dead just yet, a new post-apocalypse drama 'The Walking Dead' is in development in the US...US pilot 'Rex Is Not Your Lawyer' filmed late last year and starring our very own David Tennant, has not been picked up for a series order...in comedy a second series of the BBC remake of 'Reggie Perrin', starring Martin Clunes, is on the way and a second series of charming traitional sitcom 'Miranda' starring Miranda Hart, has been commissioned after tis first BBC2 run racked up surprisingly-good ratings on a Monday night opposite 'Coronation Street'; expect a rapid promotion/poaching to BBC1 where a new sitcom hit is desperately needed....Lee Mack and Tim Vine's 'Not Going Out' axed by BBC1 last year, has been recommissioned as the BBC try to breathe new life into the post-10.30pm week night slot. New episodes should screen towards the end of this year...Fans of irritatingly-voiced stand-up Michael McIntyre will be pleased - and not surprised, considering its ratings last time - that the BBC have commissioned a second series of his 'Comedy Roadshow' for screening during the summer. Joy.

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The BBC have commissioned two further feature-length episodes of the Steve Moffat/Mark Gatiss contemporary take on 'Sherlock Holmes' starring Martin Freeman as Watson and Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes following a pilot film shot in Cardiff last year. In the last few days both Dr Who and Holmes were filming at different ends of the same Cardiff location, being the Museum in the city centre. What larks.

That's it for now. More TV news and comment soon. Any comments, views and even snippets of news and gossip will be warmly received!

Saturday 23 January 2010

BARB delay...

Just for once it ain't my fault! I'm still awaiting the release of BARB ratings information for the week ending 3rd January. BARB have recently started using a new system for collating their information and the word is that it's causing some delay in getting up-to-date figures out onto their site. As a consequence we're rushing towards the end of January (yikes!) and still no new figures for the year... rest assured,as soon as they're available, they'll be here. First TV new column on its way too with all the news on Primeval series four and some new genre shows from the States!

Sunday 17 January 2010

Here we go...


Hello and welcome to my latest blog, dedicated to all things TV. On my first blog, World of Stuff (I know, I know) I've been running my own Top 20 UK TV Chart since the end of 2008, collated from information supplied weekly by chart researchers BARB. But the regular chart postings have tended to clutter up the blog a bit and I've never really been sure if anyone apart from me is remotely interested in this sort of data. So, to free the first blog up for reviews, opinions, previews etc, I've decided to set up TV World to post the regular ratings updates (which may be expanded to a Top 30 subject to available data) and what I hope will be a chatty/gossipy/newsy column collecting various bits and pieces of TV trivia and rumour - and maybe just a bit of opinion - and maybe even get a few heated debates going on when things get hot! But reality/talent fans beware...there'll be no Big Brother/X Factor/Strictly stuff here; this blog will be dedicated purely to creative TV - comedies, dramas, series, plays etc...

So off we go then. The first TV chart of the new year should be up by next Wednesday and the first news column shortly afterwards; if anyone out there's got any comments or bright ideas, please drop me an e-mail or leave a comment and we'll get this party started.

Sorry...