Television awards show draws 5.3m to ITV1

by Daniel Farey-Jones, Brand Republic 30-Oct-08, 11:00

LONDON - More than 5m people watched the two-hour long 'National Television Awards' on ITV1 last night although it was not enough to beat 'Silent Witness' on BBC One, which pipped it in the 9pm slot, according to unofficial overnight figures.

Hosted by newsreader Sir Trevor McDonald, the awards were watched by an average of 5.3m viewers from 8pm to 10pm, which was a 21.9% share of viewing.

Among the winners were Ant and Dec as best entertainment presenters for the eighth year in a row, Doctor Who's David Tennant for outstanding drama performance, and 'EastEnders' for most popular serial drama. Simon Cowell was given the special recognition prize.

Despite the popularity of the awards, BBC One mustered 5.1m viewers (21.2%) with 'Motorway Cops' at 8pm to 9pm and 6m (24.6%) with 'Silent Witness' at 9-10pm.

BBC Two had a stronger night than Channel 4 and Five with 3m (12.5%) catching 'The Restaurant' at 8pm to 9pm followed by 2m (8.3%) for 'Heroes' at 9-9.45pm.

Channel 4's 'Embarrassing Teen Bodies' collected 1.8m, accounting for a 7.4% share of viewing at 8pm to 9pm, with another 293,000 viewers on Channel 4+1.

It was followed at 9pm to 10pm by the fly-on-the-wall series 'The Family, which was seen by 1.6m (6.4%), with another 262,000 catching it on Channel 4+1.

Five's 'Axe Men' notched up 902,000 (3.7%) at 8pm to 9pm but fared better in the next slot with 'Paul Merton in India' bringing in 1.5m and a 5.9% share.