Mixed fortunes for C4’s SU2C specials

This week Channel 4 went charity-tastic with mixed results but got a definite thumbs up from its jolly potters.

C4’s fourth series of The Great Celebrity Bake Off For Stand Up to Cancer launched on Tuesday at 8pm with 3.1 million/16%; 321,000 +1 – the best launch since series one on 6 March 2018 (3.2 million/15%; 484,000 +1).

It easily won the slot, defeating BBC1’s Holby City from 7.50pm (2.9 million/15%) and ITV’s new Million Pound Pawn (2.5 million/13%; 100,000 +1). Channel 5’s Dogs Behaving Badly brought up the rear with 1.3 million/7%; 25,000 +1, behind BBC2’s Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr (1.9 million/10%).

Bake Off’s 425,000/19% (incl +1) for 16-34s is the lowest of all so far, behind 2 April 2019’s 590,000/27%.

Following at 9.15pm, The Celebrity Circle For Stand Up to Cancer at C4 lost much of Bake Off’s audience, hauling in 1 million/6%; 86,000 +1. It lost to Channel 5’s Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild (1.5 million/8%; 74,000 +1) at 9pm and BBC2’s DNA Family Secrets (1.2 million/7%).

Celebrity Circle played over the rest of the week plus Sunday (mostly at 9pm) and averaged 1 million/6% (incl +1). Friday’s 10pm outing was the highest (1.1 million/9%).

The average is slightly better than the first week of 2019’s non-celebrity version, which averaged 757,000/6% from 24 September mostly at 10pm. Celebrity Circle averaged 280,000/16% 16-34s, with Thursday’s 328,000/19% the highest.

More positively for C4, the final of The Great Pottery Thrown Down achieved 2.5 million/11%; 168,000 +1 at 8pm on Sunday – the show’s best overnight rating. It brushed aside C5’s Happy Campers: The Caravan Park 1.1 million/5%; 90,000 +1 and BBC2’s Brazil with Michael Palin repeat (1.3 million/6%).

C4’s Potters series averaged 2.2 million/11% – the best for the competition ever.