MONDAY: New celebrity magazine show OK! TV opened its pages to nearly half a million viewers, kicking off a big night for Channel 5.

The show, which lost its main anchor Denise Van Outen at the eleventh hour last week, launched with an average audience of 450,000 (2.1%) between 6.25pm and 7pm, according to overnight Barb figures supplied by Attentional.

The replacement for Live from Studio Five easily topped its slot average of 289,100 (1.29%) for the past three months. It was also higher than the slot average of 326,000 (1.47%) viewers in February last year.

It was a strong night for Richard Desmond-owned broadcaster.

A new series of The Gadget Show launched to an audience 1.13m (4.4%) over the 8pm hour. The technology programme, filmed in front of a live crowd at Manchester’s Museum of Science, was slightly lower than last year’s average of 1.4m (5.38%) viewers.

It was followed by the second part of Royal Navy Caribbean Patrol, which roped in 1.96m (7.9%) viewers across the hour from 9pm. It was well above C5’s slot average of 1.16m (4.42%) viewers for the past three months, but was slightly down on last week’s outing of 2.1m (8.4%).

In the 10pm slot, C5 aired Steven Seagal versus Justin Lee Collins, which saw the action hero let the cameras into his Arizona home. The documentary drew an average audience of 970,000 (5.4%) up to 11pm.

Outcasts continues decline

Elsewhere in the primetime slot, sci-fi drama Outcasts continued its downward trajectory, only managing to draw an average audience of 2.95m (11.8%) across BBC1 and BBC1 HD over the 9pm hour.

It was down on last Tuesday’s audience of 3.32m (13%), which was lower than the 4.5m (17.9%) viewers that watched the launch last Monday.

Outcasts was beaten by ITV weight loss series The Biggest Loser, which pulled in a total of 4.02m (16.11%) viewers at 9pm – its highest audience to date. Of this total, 211,800 (0.85%) watched on ITV1 HD, while an additional 156,700 (0.86%) watched on time-adjusted ITV1+1.

One Born Every Minute reached the halfway point of its 12-part run with an audience of 2.78m (11.1%) in the 9pm slot on Channel 4. An additional 374,100 (2%) watched on C4+1.

BBC2’s Horizon: How to Mend a Broken Heart provided a fix for 1.33m (5.3%) viewers on Valentines Day, while a BBC HD simulcast drew 24,900 (0.1%).

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