Ladette to Lady bows out with loss to Hotel Babylon

by Darren Davidson, Brand Republic 27-Feb-08, 11:00

LONDON - The final of ITV1's reality TV series 'Ladette to Lady' bowed out with 3.6m viewers, but it was not enough to win the 9pm slot against BBC One's 'Hotel Babylon'.

The final episode of 'Ladette to Lady', in which the three finalists were challenged to perform tasks such as a staircase walk with meticulous poise, attracted a 15% share of the audience, according to unofficial overnight figures.

'Hotel Babylon' won the 9pm slot with ease, pulling in 5.2m viewers and a 22.8% share for the second episode of an eight-part run. However, the audience was below the average for last year's second series, which was 5.8m viewers.

Five's US crime drama 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation' put in a solid performance, with 3.1m viewers and a 13% share at 9pm.

Channel 4's 'Supersize vs Superskinny', which examines issues around weight and food, was watched by 2.5m viewers and a 9.9% share at 8pm, including ratings from Channel 4+1.

It was followed by a documentary about a woman who wants British drivers to cut down on their car journeys. 'The Woman Who Stops Traffic' brought 1.2m viewers and a 4.9% share at 9pm, including Channel 4+1.

Separately, 4oD, Channel 4's video-on-demand service that allows viewers to catch up on programming from the last 30 days, has now cleared the 100m mark for downloads since its launch in December 2006.

The service, which was the first to be launched by a broadcaster, now boasts 3.3m users. The BBC and ITV launched their own catch-up services last year.

The top five shows on 4oD are 'Hollyoaks', 'Skins', 'Shameless', 'Big Brother' and 'Peep Show', with 'Skins' the most viewed so far this year.