F Word Ratings Simmer

Viewers haven't yet tired of Gordon Ramsay's F Word but the start of the fourth series failed to reach the heights of last year with 2.5m (10.7%) watching at 9pm while a further 375,000 tuned in to C4+1 at 10pm.

The hour-long food show managed to grow its audience over the time it was on air from 2.4m (10.6%) to 2.5m (11%) in the final 15 minutes.

The combined audience for the show averaged 2.8m (12.3%), putting the audience size on par with the slot average but it gained a larger share compared to the average of 11.9% in 2007.

C4's combined average for that slot so far this year is 1.8m (7.7%).

The audience for the show on C4+1 is the third highest audience for the timeshifted channel so far this year. Its audience of 375,000 though is some way below that of The Simpsons on 3 February which attracted 533,000.

The food show, featuring the Michelin-starred chef, last year averaged an impressive 3.6m (16.2%) with the first outing on 8 May bringing in 3.3m (13.9%) in a 9pm slot. The edition on 19 June though appealed to 4.3m (19.9%).

Last night's show once again appealed to an upmarket as well as younger audience but couldn't quite reach the heights attained in 2007. Of those watching the show 47.9% were from the ABC1 demographic, this compares to a share of 55.3% for the opening show in 2007.

Likewise those aged between 16 and 34 made up 33.4% of the audience last night while for the corresponding show last year 38.3% from the same age group.

The C4 show claimed a solid victory over its nearest rivals as it faced some particularly stern competition from Five.

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation felt the impact of the F Word, losing 300,000 week-on-week to average 2m (8.8%) in the same slot.

BBC2 effectively ducked out of the scramble for ratings at the time with a stark programme on abortion. The hour-long programme Abortion: the Choice, part of the channel's Bare Facts season, drew an average of 942,000 (4%).

Top of the ratings pile at 9pm with Waking the Dead on 6.1m (26.5%) as it concluded the Wounds storyline.

ITV1's documentary The Duke: a Portrait of Prince Philip, also at 9pm, had 4m (17.5%).

Earlier in the evening neither of the soaps on the two main terrestrial channels covered themselves in glory as they once again fell victim to the sunny weather.

BBC1's EastEnders attracted 6.1m (32.7%) for half an hour at 7.30pm. ITV1's 60 minute Emmerdale, at 7pm, gained 5.6m (31.7%).

The soaps weren't the only shows to fall victim to the appeal of the sun. C4's How to Look Good Naked at 8pm gained 2.2m (10.7%), down by 400,000 on last week. A further 212,000 watched on C4+1.

In the same slot BBC1's Holby City gained a relatively poor 5.3m (26.3%).

Five though saw its audience rise week-on-week at 8pm though as it continued with its Revealed strand. Last night's The Yorkshire Ripper drew 970,000 (4.7%). Last week's The Family That Defied Hitler interested 818,000 (3.9%).

All hours shares for Tuesday 13 May 2008: BBC1 – 23.2%, ITV1 – 18.4%, C4 – 9.7% (C4+1) – 0.8%, BBC2 – 6.5%, Five – 6.4%, multichannel – 34.9%.

Peaktime (6pm to 10.30pm) shares: BBC1 – 26.7%, ITV1 – 20.2%, C4 – 9.5% (C4+1) – 0.7%, BBC2 – 6.4%, Five – 5.8%, multichannel – 34.9%.

Source: Broadcast Now