Psycho Pussies: When Cats Attack proved a ratings hit for Channel 5, sinking its claws into both BBC2 and Channel 4.
After “porn with purpose” – the fad, once beloved of TV executives, of coming up with spurious excuses to make a programme about sex – Channel 5 has unearthed a whole new genre: “pets with purpose”.
The one-off documentary, which provided “first-hand accounts of some of the worst cat attacks in Britain” is now an odds-on bet to return after it was watched by 1.6 million viewers, a 9.5% share of the audience at 8pm on Wednesday.
Around double Channel 5’s typical audience share at that time of night, it beat the last outing of Dara and Ed’s Great Big Adventure on BBC2 – albeit a repeat– and Channel 4 documentary The Auction House.
Channel 5 was once the home of “football, films, and fucking”. Under new owners Viacom, the MTV and Nickelodeon parent company who bought the broadcaster from Richard Desmond last year, it may have a new incarnation: “Football, films and fluffy animals”.
Next Wednesday Channel 5 will show the similarly themed 90 Cats and Counting: Cat Crazies.
BBC2’s Great Big Adventure had 865,000 viewers (5%) while The Auction House had 1.1 million viewers (5.9%).
Don’t tell her what? It’s not on BBC3 anymore
BBC3’s Don’t Tell The Bride, switched to BBC1 after plans were announced to take BBC3 online only, made its big channel debut with 2.8 million viewers, a 16% share at 8pm.
On the same time as Channel 5’s Psycho Pussies, it lost out to ITV’s The Cube, but only just, watched by 2.9 million viewers.
The third outing for new BBC1 drama The Interceptor could only manage 2.4 million viewers (12%) at 9pm, beaten by ITV’s Long Lost Family, which had 3.8 million viewers, a 17.8% share.
