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.