

He’s one of Britain’s best known comedy creations – but Alan Partridge attracted disappointing ratings to Sky Atlantic last night.

Just 60,000 people tuned into the second series of Mid Morning Matters, a meagre 0.4 per cent of the total viewers at 10pm.

The figure is less than half 150,000 that tuned in to the first series when it launched in 2012.

Overnight ratings are likely to have been hit as the show was put up on Sky’s on demand service ten hours earlier – and the broadcaster will be expecting the numbers to swell when on-demand figures are added.

But should they slump any further, the fictional DJ might be better on the real North Nofolk Radio, which attracts 22,200 listers a week across North Walsham, Cromer, Aylsham, Sheringham, Holt, Fakenham and Wells-next-the-Sea.

Despite the minuscule figures, Mid Morning Matters was praised by critics. The Independent said the script was ‘red hot’, the Radio Times said it was ‘vintage Alan Partridge of the highest order’ and the Telegraph called it ‘delightfully low-key’

ITV’s new science entertainment show, It’s Not Rocket Science did not score stratospheric ratings last night either.

The show, fronted by Ben Miller, Rachel Riley and Romesh Ranganathan, attracted 2.1million viewers at 8pm, a million below the slot average.



Published: 17 Feb 2016