Shameless season five exits with 2.2m viewers

by Darren Davidson, Brand Republic 16-Apr-08, 11:10

LONDON - Channel 4's fifth season of home grown drama 'Shameless' ended on a high last night, with 2.2m viewers tuning in for the last episode, according to unofficial overnight figures.

The popularity of the acclaimed drama, which first aired in January 2004, remains undiminished with age, with the final instalment of a 16-part run attracting a 13.1% share of the audience at 10pm. Filming on the sixth series began this month.

Including Channel 4+ 1, 'Shameless' was watched by 2.5m viewers and a 14.4% share, taking the series average up to 2.4m.

The show performs well among the coveted 16-34 year old age group, with the fifth series averaging a 23.1% share among this group.

Channel 4 had a strong night, with the second episode of 'How to Look Good Naked', netting 2.9m viewers and an 11.9% share at 8pm. Including Channel 4+1, it pulled in 3.1m viewers and a 13.1% share.

The second instalment of a two-part special of BBC One crime drama 'Waking the Dead', drew 6.6m viewers and a 28.1% share at 9pm to win the slot. The first part, aired on Monday, brought 6.8m viewers.

ITV1's 'Cops with Cameras' was the second most watched show in the 9pm slot, with 3.5m viewers and a 15% share.

Five had a strong night on the back of popular US import 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation', which had 2.8m viewers and an 11.8% share at 9pm.

It was followed by its spin-off sister show 'CSI: Miami', with 1.7m viewers and a 9.4% share at 10pm.

The climatic season of sci-fi series 'Battlestar Galactica' had a modest start on Sky One with 235,000 viewers and a 1% share of the multchannel audience between 9-10.50pm, despite rave reviews from critics.