Just 6.6 million loyal viewers watched Cilla Black drop her bombshell on the first ever live episode of Blind Date on Saturday - a fraction of the audiences the show attracted in its heyday.
Cilla stunned viewers at the weekend by announcing she was quitting the show that has made her a national institution.
But the disappointing viewing figures reveal Cilla failed to make the splash she was hoping for - the BBC's Eamonn Holmes managed 600,000 more viewers for his National Lottery Jetset game show, and even Match of the Day managed to beat Blind Date Live.
Saturday's live edition - the first in 18 years of Blind Date - was supposed to have heralded a comeback for the show, which regularly attracted audiences of more than 17 million at the height of its popularity.
Even three years ago, when the show was past its heyday, it was pulling in more than 10 million.
Saturday night's figures, however, mark something of a comeback for the show after the Christmas Day celebrity edition attracted just 3.2 million viewers.
But despite a costly revamp, the show continues to slide in the ratings and Cilla will be disappointed that fewer one in three viewers witnessed her final coup de grace.
Most once-loyal fans will have discovered her decision in the Sunday papers.
The show's makers knew nothing of her decision to quit and Black said she wanted to let the viewers know first.
ITV's ratings leaped after Blind Date Live finished, when 7.5 million viewers tuned in to Who Wants to be a Millionaire?.
However, BBC1 still scored an easy peak time victory, with Casualty attracting 8.9 million viewers.
