Agatha Christie drama Partners in Crime tops Sunday viewing

This weekend’s TV viewing was once again cursed by a beautiful summer’s day, as that distracting yellow ball in the sky made a fleeting appearance on Saturday meaning people abandoned their darkness dens in droves.

Friday night saw audiences reach 6.7 million viewers, with the biggest audience of the past three days tuning in for the first episode of Coronation Street on ITV at 7:30pm. A bit later, BBC One hosted the grand finale of Celebrity MasterChef (8:30pm) which managed a healthy 5.2 million viewers and topped the day’s Twitter TV chart.

Unfortunately, Saturday couldn’t match the previous night’s interest although BBC One still did fairly well, netting eight of the top ten spots of the day. Although this was a slightly hollow victory as ever-present schedule-haunter Casualty (9pm) led Saturday’s exciting viewing options with only 4.2 million viewers and a 23% share.

So it was up to Sunday’s offerings to drum up some interest and save the weekend, helped along by the predictable 180° change in the weather.

[advert position=”left”]Things got under way properly at 7pm on BBC One as those spritely young things on Countryfile attended the exhilarating Kent County Show and brought in Sunday’s second biggest audience.

6.2 million viewers watched as Matt, Ellie, Adam, Tom and Timmy the Dog marvelled at all the wholesome outdoor fun on offer, resulting in a 32% share.

In a similarly tepid vein, Fiona Bruce and her very bestest art expert Philip Mould returned for one last mystery in the fourth and final episode in the current series of Fake or Fortune? (BBC One, 8pm). 5 million viewers watched as a pair of paintings were put under the microscope, resulting in a 23% share.

On BBC Two Dragons’ Den brought in an audience of 2.4 million and an 11% share at 8pm. At the same time Holly Willoughby was busy prying the tears out of viewers’ eyes on Surprise Surprise (ITV), with the latest round of sorry stories bringing in 3 million viewers and a 14% share.

At 9pm, the latest slice of political paranoia that is Odyssey (BBC Two) was watched by 1.1 million viewers and a 5% share while the creepy near-future familiarity of Humans (Channel 4) was watched by 1.9 million viewers and an 8% share.

Over on ITV, sozzled dolly bird Joanna Lumley spent the evening in a snowy cabin with a ‘real man’ necking some mysterious home brewed-alcohol.

The third and final leg of Joanna Lumley’s Trans -Siberian Adventure (9pm) saw the model and actress board her latest train, only to receive a pint glass of vodka as a night cap.

3.1 million viewers spent the evening in the company of the inebriated but happy buccaneer, resulting in a 14% share.

Over on Channel 5 was the fifth entry in a franchise that continued to defy common sense, as Resident Evil: Retribution (9pm) was watched by 524,000 viewers and a 3% share.

At the same time, BBC One was busy claiming Sunday’s biggest audience as barometer of talent, David Walliams, continued his charmless and aggressive campaign to initiate himself as a national treasure.

The first of a six part series, Partners in Crime (9pm) saw Walliams star as one half of a dull 1950s couple who unwillingly get caught up in a world of intrigue and danger.

Based on the novels of Agatha Christie, the opening episode saw Call the Midwife‘s Jessica Raine as Tuppence Beresford, who joins her husband for a spot of Cold War sleuthing after a chance meeting with a weirdo on a train.

An audience of 6.5 million viewers tuned in to soak up the camp chemistry, resulting in a 29% share and Sunday’s biggest hit.

Overnight data is available each morning in mediatel.co.uk’s TV Database, with all BARB registered subscribers able to view reports for terrestrial networks and key multi-channel stations. Overnight data supplied by TRP are based on 15 minute slot averages. This may differ from tape checked figures, which are based on a programme’s actual start and end time.

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