UK TV Chart - w/e 24th May 2009

Here's the rundown of the Top 20 most popular UK TV programmes or series for the week ending Sunday 24th May 2009 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) Britain's Got Talent (ITV1).................12.77 *
2) Coronation Street (ITV1).....................9.16 *
3) The Apprentice (BBC1)........................8.90
4) EastEnders (BBC1)............................7.81 *
5) Emmerdale (ITV1).............................6.53 *
6) Ashes To Ashes (BBC1)........................6.32
7) Have I Got news For You (BBC1)...............6.25
8) Holby City (BBC1)............................5.50
9) Inspector George Gently (BBC1)...............5.17
10) The Bill (ITV1)..............................4.98
11) (Tears, Lies and Videotape (ITV1).............4.97
11) (Primeval (ITV1)..............................4.97
13) Waterloo Road (BBC1).........................4.94
14) Heartbeat (ITV1).............................4.81
15) Casualty (BBC1)..............................4.65
16) The Apprentice - You're Fired! (BBC2)........4.49
17) New Tricks (BBC1)............................4.39
18) All Star Mr & Mrs (ITV1).....................4.30
19) Reggie Perrin (BBC1).........................4.16
20) Tonight's The Night (BBC1)...................4.08

Chart commentary: A pretty dismal and stagnant chart this week which sums up how moribund and predictable our TV schedules have become. reality shows - BT and The Apprentice - are the current obsessions and the soaps are suffering badly from viewer disinterest now and their days of lording it over the chart look gone forever. Only 'Ashes to Ashes' flies the flag for good quality prime time drama and will BBC1 be considering axing 'Casualty' now its ratings worse than 'Heartbeat' which ITV has now pulled the plug on? I've long felt that 'Casualty' should be pruned back...2 thirteen-part series a year would refresh the show and free up some funds for the BBC to try a few new shows in the vacant slots. Elsewhere 'Primeval' is holding its own week after week now with just under 5 million viewers...we should know in a week or so if the series has any future. Good to see the excellent 'Reggie Perrin' remake elbow its way back into the Top 20 and depressing to see a cheap 'Apprentice' BBC2 spin-off not only becoming BBC2's highest-rated show of the week but also climbing into the Top 20. When will this madness end???