BBC1 sitcom Miranda bowed out with more than 7 million viewers and a wedding but it could not match its Christmas ratings of two years ago or a festive Mrs Brown’s Boys.
Miranda, in which the eponymous heroine finally married her long-term sweetheart Gary, was watched by 7.3 million viewers (27.6%) from 8pm on New Year’s Day.
It was a big night for BBC1, which also had 6.5 million viewers (26.8%) for its 90-minute Roald Dahl adaptation Esio Trot, starring Judi Dench, Dustin Hoffman and James Corden, from 6.30pm.
But neither could match the 7.9 million viewers (32.4%) who watched the second part of the Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas special at 9.35pm, or the 8.5 million (32.3%) who watched EastEnders at 8.30pm, also on BBC1.
The last-ever episode of Miranda was more than 2 million viewers down on the 9.5 million (37.8%) who watched the opening episode of its third series on Boxing Day two years ago, understood to be its biggest ever overnight audience.
The sitcom’s absence will be felt by BBC1. It is one of the channel’s two biggest comedies, along with with Brendan O’Carroll’s Mrs Brown’s Boys, which is likely to return only on an infrequent basis.
Miranda began life on BBC2 in 2009 before switching to BBC1 in 2012. Hart revealed earlier this year that it would not return.
Elsewhere on New Year’s Day, BBC2, ITV and Channel 4 went head to head with a trio of free-to-air movie premieres.
ITV had 2.9 million viewers (14.5%) for Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight from 9pm, ahead of the 2.4 million (9.8%) who watched the rather more genteel Quartet, the comedy starring Maggie Smith and Tom Courtenay, also from 9pm.
Channel 4’s Kristen Stewart movie Snow White and the Huntsman had 2.5 million viewers (10%) from 8pm.
Attenborough conquers skies. On Sky
Sky 1’s latest David Attenborough series, Conquest of the Skies, featuring the unlikely attractions of the descendants of the dragonfly, the Atlas beetle and the blow fly, began its three-part run with 318,000 viewers, a 1.3% share of the audience from 7pm. It was down 20% on the channel’s three-month slot average.
All ratings are Barb overnight figures, including live, +1 (except for BBC channels) and same day timeshifted (recorded) viewing, but excluding on demand, or other – unless otherwise stated. Figures for BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 generally include ratings for their HD simulcast services, unless otherwise stated
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