UK TV Chart - w/e 6th September 2009

Here's the rundown of the Top 20 most popular UK TV programmes or series for the week ending Sunday 6th September 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. 'Rpt' denotes repeated broadcast or film.

1) The X Factor (ITV1)...................12.84
2) Coronation Street (ITV1)...............8.39 *
3) New Tricks (BBC1)......................8.33
4) EastEnders (BBC1)......................7.59 *
5) Waking The Dead (BBC1).................6.86
6) Emmerdale (ITV1).......................6.36 *
7) (Football: Spain v England (ITV1).......5.50
7) (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
(ITV1).............5.50 rpt
9) Agatha Christie's Marple (ITV1)........5.39
10) (Holby City (BBC1)......................5.26
10) (The Cube (ITV1)........................5.26
12) Framed (BBC1)..........................5.02
13) Countryfile (BBC1).....................5.01
14) Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the
Black Pearl (BBC1)......4.83 rpt
15) Rebus (ITV1)...........................4.35 rpt
16) Edinburgh Military Tattoo (BBC1).......4.26
17) Wuthering Heights (ITV1)...............4.25
18) The One Show (BBC1)....................4.24
19) The Fixer (ITV1).......................4.33
20) (Crimewatch (BBC1)......................4.13
20) (Joanna Lumley: Catwoman (ITV1)........4.13

BBC: 10 ITV: 11

Commentary: A rare victory for ITV this week as they edge ahead of the BBC with 11 entries in the chart. But look closer at the chart and the titles they've done it with hardly shows the Network covering itself in glory with a schedule including a football match and a film, a couple of poorly-rating dramas (including Marple which shows how ITV have lost the big grip they once had on the Sunday night drama slot), a quiz which manages to lose an astonishing 7 million X Factor audience inheritance, their two 'big' soaps which are losing momentum and a pointless documentary about cats. Hardly a dream schedule. The BBC's entries are the usualy mix of popular drama - good figures for the charming Bank Holiday one-off Framed, a good solid rating for the first in the new series of Waking The Dead and a knockout number for the New Tricks series finale. Interesting weeks ahead with the BBC launching the new Saturday night series of Merlin in a slot which shoulds guarantee it a regular 6 million audience and nice to see the Corporation showing some guts and pitting Strictly Come Dancing against X Factor. Both shows may suffer lower figures than they might get if not clashing but it'll be nice to see the smile wiped off flathead C*w*ll's face when his talent karaoke circus starts to wilt. Happy days ahead, we hope!