In a series of posts, I’ll share the UK’s highest-rated documentary and unscripted programs for the half-year in which Covid struck.
My ratings snapshot for 1H 2020 is comprised of:
- The Top 50 in the combined Documentary and Lifestyle / Hobbies category.
- My Takeaways.
- Then #51-100.
Going deeper
- In future posts, I’ll share the Top 25 History and Wildlife programs.
The challenging landscape
- The UK is the #2 English-speaking television market.
- A generously-funded Factual sector has been the world-leading creative innovator for generations.
However, the industry is enduring the triple disruptions of:
- COVID: notably the dive in advertising revenues and disruptions to the production pipeline.
- The rise of Netflix and other streaming platforms.
- And a reactionary government that is deeply hostile to the BBC.
For the broadcasters, this dramatic shift translates into a shrinking and ageing audience, and waves of budget cuts of uncertain scale.
Notes on the Data
- The ‘000 P4+’ column refers to viewers 4 years and older in thousands.
- Share refers to the program’s share of television sets in use at that time.
- The data refers to highest single episode in a series.
- The categories come from BARB, and titles are sometimes incomplete.
- Ratings for Netflix and other streamers are not available or included in Share.
- Some programs were scheduled before the COVID shutdowns.
UK Broadcast Audience
Documentary & Hobbies Category
Top 50 1H 2020
| Channel | Program | ‘000 P4+ | Share | |
| 1 | BBC 1 | Antiques Roadshow | 7,846 | 29.0 |
| 2 | BBC 1 | The Repair Shop | 6,885 | 28.9 |
| 3 | BBC 1 | Countryfile | 6,729 | 34.7 |
| 4 | ITV | Bradley Walsh & Son: Breaking Dad | 5,799 | 27.0 |
| 5 | BBC 1 | The Real Marigold Hotel | 5,758 | 22.7 |
| 6 | ITV | Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace | 5,657 | 24.6 |
| 7 | ITV | Bradley Walsh: Happy 60th Birthday | 4,848 | 20.6 |
| 8 | BBC 2 | Top Gear | 4,603 | 16.8 |
| 9 | BBC 1 | Ambulance | 4,525 | 21.7 |
| 10 | ITV | Welcome to HMP Belmarsh | 4,457 | 18.3 |
| 11 | BBC 1 | Dame Vera Lynn: We’ll Meet Again | 4,256 | 25.5 |
| 12 | BBC 1 | Primates | 4,211 | 16.8 |
| 13 | BBC 1 | Garden Rescue | 4,190 | 21.5 |
| 14 | BBC 2 | Inside Monaco: Playground of Rich | 4,178 | 17.8 |
| 15 | BBC 1 | Eat Well for Less? | 4,029 | 18.7 |
| 16 | BBC 1 | Blue Planet Revisited | 3,942 | 23.2 |
| 17 | ITV | Cilla: The Lost Tapes | 3,844 | 17.7 |
| 18 | C4 | 24 Hours in Police Custody | 3,824 | 14.6 |
| 19 | BBC 2 | A House Through Time | 3,816 | 17.5 |
| 20 | ITV | Absolutely India: Mancs in Mumbai | 3,807 | 17.0 |
| 21 | BBC 2 | Gardeners’ World | 3,798 | 16.1 |
| 22 | BBC 1 | A Tribute to Dame Vera Lynn | 3,522 | 19.9 |
| 23 | ITV | The Greek Islands with Julia Bradbury | 3,501 | 16.9 |
| 24 | C4 | Murder in the Outback | 3,421 | 16.6 |
| 25 | BBC 1 | True North | 3,382 | 17.0 |
| 26 | ITV | Joanna Lumley’s Hidden Caribbean | 3,341 | 14.7 |
| 27 | BBC 1 | Easy Ways to Live Well | 3,326 | 15.7 |
| 28 | ITV | Britain’s Best Walks with Julia Bradbury | 3,325 | 19.3 |
| 29 | BBC 1 | Sir David Jason at 80 | 3,293 | 20.3 |
| 30 | ITV | Tyson Fury: The Gypsy King | 3,178 | 14.1 |
| 31 | ITV | St David’s: Britain’s Smallest City | 3,170 | 12.2 |
| 32 | ITV | Love Your Garden | 3,164 | 15.8 |
| 33 | BBC 1 | RHS Chelsea Flower Show | 3,157 | 21.8 |
| 34 | BBC 2 | Inside the Factory | 3,146 | 13.0 |
| 35 | BBC 1 | DIY SOS | 3,002 | 15.5 |
| 36 | BBC 2 | Springwatch | 2,971 | 16.2 |
| 37 | BBC 1 | Our Lives | 2,948 | 15.0 |
| 38 | ITV | Grow Your Own At Home | 2,945 | 15.2 |
| 39 | ITV | Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs | 2,944 | 13.1 |
| 40 | ITV | Captain Tom’s War | 2,876 | 14.4 |
| 41 | BBC 1 | The Truth About… | 2,870 | 15.5 |
| 42 | BBC 1 | Rio and Kate: Becoming a Stepfamily | 2,868 | 12.8 |
| 43 | BBC 1 | Spy in the Wild | 2,862 | 11.3 |
| 44 | BBC 1 | Blue Planet II | 2,814 | 18.2 |
| 45 | BBC 2 | Murder 24/7 | 2,808 | 10.8 |
| 46 | ITV | Britain’s Busiest Motorway | 2,709 | 14.2 |
| 47 | C4 | Barrymore: The Body in the Pool | 2,708 | 14.0 |
| 48 | BBC 1 | Bargain Hunt | 2,695 | 29.1 |
| 49 | ITV | Ross Kemp: On the NHS Frontline | 2,665 | 12.6 |
| 50 | ITV | Inside the Crown: Secrets of the Royals | 2,659 | 10.5 |
Read my Takeaways below…
TAKEAWAYS
Land & Country
- The hit breakthrough of COVID is the folksy, sentimental Repair Shop in which damaged family treasures are brought back to life by accomplished craftspeople.
- The series is led by the relatable and expert host, furniture restorer Jay Blades.
- Antiques Roadshow returns to #1, and Countryfile rides at #3 — a trifecta that confirms the British audience’s appetite for nostalgia in a hard time.
Natural History / Pets
- The Natural History genre relies mainly on returns to the archive (Primates) and to strong franchises (Blue Planet, Springwatch, Penguins), and evergreen locations (Attenborough and the Giant Egg).
- ITV’s How To Keep Your Dog Happy at Home strikes the perfect note for COVID isolators.
- It’s balanced on the ugly canine side by Channel 5’s Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly (Misses Top 100 at #135)
History
- A House Through Time (#19) is a standout for BBC2, and ticks the “homey” COVID mood of the year.
- Other History notables are Captain Tom’s War (hero-story), Back in Time for the Corner Shop (nostalgia), Princess Anne and Our Queen at War (Royals) .
- They all lead the darker stories from the past: Keeler, Profumo, Ward and Me, and Return to Belsen.
Talent Tops Crime
- Great British crimes and criminals are noticeably less present than in 2019: There’s enough dark and edgy outside already.
- The Top 50 is more populated with comfortable and often loveable talent of today and yesterday.
- See: Bradley Walsh, Cilla, Vera Lynn, Attenborough, and many more.
- Crime meets Talent in Welcome to HMP Belmarsh (#10), where the relatable Ross Kemp leads us inside a notorious maximum security prison.
- C4’s Murder in the Outback (#24) somewhat bucked the trend.
Royals Downgraded
- Looking outside the Factual category, The Queen’s Covid Address attracted more than 14 million viewers and an astounding 45.8 share.
- The Windsor family were less present in the 2019 Top 100 Factual than previously.
- The dry spell continues with fewer births, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and funerals that could be covered in COVID.
- HRH Andrew‘s deepening troubles don’t help.
Those are my Takeaways for the moment. LMK if you disagree. And watch out for my related posts on the Top 25 for History and Wildlife.
Here for my heaviest readers are #51-100:
UK Broadcast Audience
Documentary & Hobbies Category
Top 51-100 1H 2020
| Channel | Program | ‘000 | Share | |
| 51 | ITV | The Metro: A Rail Life Story | 2,612 | 13.9 |
| 52 | ITV | The Station: Trouble on the Tracks | 2,606 | 11.7 |
| 53 | BBC 2 | Back in Time for the Corner Shop | 2,600 | 12.7 |
| 54 | ITV | The Village | 2,560 | 12.2 |
| 55 | C4 | Devon and Cornwall | 2,552 | 12.5 |
| 56 | ITV | Ross Kemp: Living with… | 2,548 | 14.3 |
| 57 | BBC 1 | Football, Prince William + Mental Health | 2,509 | 14.7 |
| 58 | C4 | Location, Location, Location | 2,503 | 10.7 |
| 59 | ITV | In the Land of the Midnight Sun | 2,468 | 11.0 |
| 60 | C5 | A & E After Dark | 2,442 | 11.3 |
| 61 | ITV | Coronation Street Icons: Audrey Roberts | 2,437 | 13.7 |
| 62 | BBC 2 | Cornwall: This Fishing Life | 2,411 | 11.8 |
| 63 | C4 | Catching a Killer | 2,364 | 10.4 |
| 64 | C4 | 24 Hours in A&E | 2,333 | 9.1 |
| 65 | BBC 1 | Escape to the Country | 2,315 | 18.8 |
| 66 | BBC 1 | Stacey Dooley | 2,281 | 15.4 |
| 67 | BBC 1 | Life and Birth | 2,281 | 10.8 |
| 68 | C4 | Prue Leith: Journey with My Daughter | 2,268 | 8.4 |
| 69 | BBC 1 | Attenborough and the Giant Egg | 2,261 | 13.7 |
| 70 | C4 | Kirstie and Phil’s Love It or List It | 2,246 | 11.4 |
| 71 | BBC 2 | Your Home Made Perfect | 2,207 | 11.2 |
| 72 | ITV | Secrets of the Driving Test | 2,203 | 10.1 |
| 73 | ITV | Unbelievable Moments, On Camera | 2,199 | 10.6 |
| 74 | ITV | Griff’s Great Australian Adventure | 2,166 | 10.9 |
| 75 | C5 | Princess Anne: The Daughter… | 2,163 | 12.0 |
| 76 | C4 | George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces | 2,147 | 8.8 |
| 77 | BBC 1 | Antiques Road Trip | 2,146 | 20.4 |
| 78 | BBC 1 | Critical Incident | 2,140 | 11.0 |
| 79 | BBC 2 | Villages by the Sea | 2,085 | 10.7 |
| 80 | ITV | Our Queen at War | 2,078 | 9.2 |
| 81 | ITV | Tales From the Coast | 2,076 | 8.8 |
| 82 | BBC 2 | Hospital | 2,067 | 9.3 |
| 83 | BBC 2 | Louis Theroux | 2,061 | 7.4 |
| 84 | C5 | Warship: Life At Sea | 2,050 | 9.0 |
| 85 | BBC 2 | Stacey Dooley Investigates | 2,034 | 8.5 |
| 86 | ITV | Save Money: Lose Weight | 2,032 | 10.7 |
| 87 | C5 | The Yorkshire Vet | 2,024 | 10.1 |
| 88 | BBC 2 | Keeler, Profumo, Ward and Me | 2,022 | 13.7 |
| 89 | ITV | Return to Belsen | 2,017 | 8.3 |
| 90 | C5 | Police Interceptors | 2,011 | 9.7 |
| 91 | BBC 2 | Miriam’s Big Fat Adventure | 1,987 | 8.2 |
| 92 | C5 | Police: Hour of Duty | 1,964 | 8.1 |
| 93 | C4 | The Mum Who Got Tourette’s | 1,958 | 8.0 |
| 94 | BBC 2 | Russia with Simon Reeve | 1,945 | 9.1 |
| 95 | BBC 2 | Winterwatch | 1,943 | 9.6 |
| 96 | BBC 2 | John Le Mesurier | 1,936 | 11.6 |
| 97 | C5 | William & Kate: Too Good to Be True? | 1,932 | 11.1 |
| 98 | BBC 2 | Murder Trial: Margaret Fleming | 1,917 | 7.0 |
| 99 | BBC 2 | Pilgrimage | 1,912 | 7.5 |
| 100 | BBC 1 | Penguins – Spy in the Huddle | 1,910 | 14.1 |
More
- Read the Top 25 Wildlife / Natural History programs
- And the Top History 25
- Don’t miss my interview notes with BBC History buyer Simon Young at Sunny Side. Includes his insights concerning A House Through Time
- And watch my Sunny Side Interview on Channel 4’s strategy: What do they want? What do they pay?