1.3m want to Win My Wage

Win My Wage, Channel 4's temporary replacement for Deal or No Deal, managed to make its mark at 4.15pm yesterday with 1.3m viewers (15.9%) but it was no match for the Noel Edmonds-fronted show.

The game show, produced by Hotbed Media and hosted by Nick Hancock, saw its audience build from 1.1m (14%) to 1.5m (17.1%) over the 45-minutes it was on air.

BBC2's repeat of Ready Steady Cook at 4.30pm gave the C4 programme a run for its money with 1.3m (14%) from 4.30pm. A little further down the field was ITV1's repeat of Rosemary and Thyme with 1m (12.3%) over an hour from 4pm.

Five's re-run of a feature-length Perry Mason from 3.30pm managed 601,000 (7.4%) over two hours while an episode of the children's series The Story of Tracy Beaker on BBC1 drew 654,000 (7.5%) from 4.30pm.

Despite reasonable figures, Win My Wage struggled to fill the void in the schedule left by Deal or No Deal. So far this year C4 has managed to gain a sizeable slot average of 2.6m (24.6%) almost entirely due to the enduring appeal of the game show hosted by Noel Edmonds.

Soaps and PSB

In peaktime it was a largely predictable night for the terrestrial channels with the usual blend of strongly performing soaps and an array of public service broadcasting-style programmes.

ITV1's double helping of Coronation Street once again pulled in the viewers with the 7.30pm edition bringing in 9m (46%) at 7.30pm. An hour later 8.7m (40.5%) watched the second one.

BBC1's EastEnders drew 8.4m (40.3%) at 8pm.

The two main terrestrial channels also crossed swords in the current affairs arena. ITV1's Tonight programme, Olympic Backlash, at 8pm gained 3.2m (15.1%) while BBC1's Panorama, in the later 8.30pm slot, took 2.3m (10.9%).

BBC1's medical series Fight for Life at 9pm gained 3.3m (15.6%) while further up the field was ITV1's penultimate episode of The Time of Your Life, in the same slot, with 4.1m (19.2%).

BBC2's 20th Century Battlefields continued to make steady progress with the viewers at 9pm as the 60-minute documentary, which looked at the Falklands war, drew a respectable 2.4m (11.2%), a rise of 300,000 on the previous week.

C4's Empire's Children, which this week featured Lord David Steel looking back at his family and the impact of the British Empire, gained 1.8m (8.3%). Five's My Brilliant Brain picked up 1m (4.7%).

Five US attracts the Dirt

Over in multichannel homes, the audience for the second outing of Five US' drama acquisition Dirt took a knock but the show still remained a big attraction.

The 60-minute drama starring Courtney Cox appealed to 388,000 (2.23%) at 9pm. When the show launched at the same time last week the show drew a sizeable 615,000 (3.4%).

The Five US show did have the edge over the majority of its competitors though. The exceptions being ITV2's film Wimbledon which claimed 409,000 (2.56%) at 9pm and More 4's Relocation, Relocation which took the top spot on 436,000 (2.52%).

BBC3's Honey We're Killing the Kids found 289,000 (1.67%) and E4's Big Brother: On the Couch drew 236,000 (1.36%).

The second double helping of New Adventures of Old Christine on UKTV Gold had a tough time though.

The 9pm outing managed just 86,000 (0.50%) which was followed by 72,000 (0.41%) watching the second at 9.30pm.

Last week the opening shows gained 150,000 (0.8%) and 127,000 (0.7%) in their respective slots.

All hours shares for Monday 16 July 2007: ITV1 – 20.8%, BBC1 – 20.5%, C4 – 8.8%, BBC2 – 8.8%, Five – 4.9%, mulitchannel – 36.2%.

Peaktime (6pm to 10.30pm) shares: ITV1 – 25.2%, BBC1 – 21%, BBC2 – 9.8%, C4 – 8.4%, Five – 4.7%, multichannel – 30.9%.

Source: Broadcast Now