Hustle conjures up 5.7m viewers as fifth series launches

by Darren Davidson, Brand Republic 09-Jan-09, 11:00

LONDON - The fifth series of BBC One's 'Hustle', in which a group of confidence tricksters devise elaborate cons, won the coveted 9pm slot last night with 5.7m viewers, according to unofficial overnight figures.

Despite the new series returning with two-fifths of the lead cast missing from the last series -- Marc Warren and Jaime Murray - the first instalment of a six-part series captured a 23.2% share of the audience between 9pm-10pm.

The latest instalment of 'Celebrity Big Brother', which saw US rapper Coolio emerge as the pantomime villain among the housemates, brought Channel 4 2.8m viewers and an 11.2% share of the audience in the same slot.

Including ratings on Channel 4+1, 'CBB' had 3m viewers.

BBC Two's 'Victorian Farm' launched with a solid 2.9m viewers and an 11.7% share of the audience between 9pm-10pm.

The series, which will span six episodes, features a group of historians re-creating the daily life of the Victorian farmer on a Shropshire estate, where time appears to have frozen.

ITV1's 'Total Emergency', yet another documentary series about police chases and rescues, was watched by 3.2m viewers and a 15.5% share of the audience in the prime time slot.

Five aired a 1984 Clint Eastwood thriller called 'Tightrope', which had 890,000 viewers and a 4.7% share of the audience between 9pm-11.20pm.

The second series of highly acclaimed US crime drama 'Dexter' debuted on ITV1 with a more than respectable 1.2m viewers and a 9.6% share of the audience between 10.35pm-11.40pm.

Comments

Keith Geddes - 09/01/2009

The thing is, at the start of Hustle, we havent a clue what was going on. I didnt know Marc Warren wasnt back in it.. the story evolved as it usually does and many slightly expected twists towards the end.. SO.. whoever was interested at the start.. WOULD stay with it!! As usual, it was very good. Yes, missing Ms Murray, but we`ve been `given` a substitute now. Time will tell.