Celebrity Come Dine with Me delivers 2.9m viewers on opening night

by Darren Davidson, Brand Republic 11-Apr-08, 11:10

LONDON - Channel 4's 'Celebrity Come Dine with Me' opened with 2.9m viewers last night vindicating the broadcaster's decision to give the daytime programme a primetime series.

The series, which began with a one-off celebrity edition featuring It Girl Tamara Beckwith, singer Lynsey de Paul, musician MC Harvey and tenor Jonathan Ansell, attracted a 12.6% share of the audience at 8pm, according to unofficial overnight figures.

Including C4's digital channel Channel 4+1, 'Celebrity Come Dine with Me' was watched by 3.1m viewers and a 13.7% share of the audience, which is well above the 2.2m slot average.

It was followed by a 'Cutting Edge' documentary that asked children how parental anxiety affected them. 'Cotton Wool Kids' drew 1.4m viewers and a 6% share between 9pm-10pm. Including Channel 4+1, the programme brought 1.5m viewers and a 6.4% share.

ITV1's 'New Homes from Hell', in which the programme makers looked at unlucky homeowners, won the 9pm slot with 4.3m viewers and a 19.2% share.

At the same time, BBC One's 'Who Do You Think You Are?', in which actress Barbara Windsor traced her ancestry, pulled in 2.9m viewers and a 13.1% share.

Five's US import 'House' netted a solid 2.3m viewers and a 10.3% share at 9pm.