UK TV Chart - w/e August 30th 2009

Here's the rundown of the Top 20 most popular UK TV programmes or series for the week ending Sunday 30th August 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) The X Factor (ITV1)..................10.81
2) Coronation Street (ITV1)..............8.77 *
3) EastEnders (BBC1).....................8.04 *
4) New Tricks (BBC1).....................7.93
5) Emmerdale (ITV1)......................6.36 *
6) The Cube (ITV1).......................5.12
7) Motorway Cops (BBC1)..................5.06
8) Holby City (BBC1).....................5.03
9) Inspector George Gently (BBC1)........4.73
10) Countryfile (BBC1)....................4.68
11) My Family (BBC1)......................4.57
12) Lewis (ITV1)..........................4.45
13) Wuthering Heights (ITV1)..............4.29
14) Dragon's Den (BBC2)...................4.24
15) Film: Meet the Fockers (BBC1).........4.07
16) Match Of The Day (BBC1)...............4.05
17) The One Show (BBc1)...................3.93 *
18) UEFA Champions League Football (ITV1).3.81
19) Coast (BBC2)..........................3.77
20) (The Bill (ITV1).......................3.64
20) (The 39 Steps (BBC1)...................3.64
20) (Antiques Roadshow (BBC1)..............3.64

BBC 14, ITV 8

Chart Commentary: This is getting embarrassing now. Another week, another routing for ITV. The ailing Network sees its fortunes continue to flag with only a handful of entries in the chart (effectly a Top 22 this week with three titles tied for no.20). After trailing their new adaptation of Wuthering Heights since, it appears, the very moment the cameras stopped rolling, the Sunday night premiere of the first episode didn't interest many. A repeated episode of the detective drama Lewis, shown immedioately before, scored a higher figure and even a creaky repeat of the BBC1 sitcom My Family did better. It's easy to laugh at ITV's woes (and it's fun too!) but unless and until they can generate some dramas people want tyo watch in large numbers, the Network will scurry back to its handful of talent and reality shows - and that's a bubble which must be close to bursting by now. The Bill, ripped to pieces by ITV's direction that it be 'beefed up' and transformed into a gritty, edgy 9pm show, clambers back into the top 20, nearly 2 million down on the figures it was achieving six weeks ago at 8pm. Well done ITV! A repeat of the Christmas BBC film The 39 Steps charts too, scoring higher numbers than new ITV returning drama The Fixer and Monday night light drama Monday Monday. Worrying times continue for ITV.