Poldark concludes on a high

So Ross Poldark - that one-man Cornish economy booster – has cleared off once more, this time with unscrupulous land-owners facing down insurrection, French ships off the coast - not the touristy kind - and a wife who’s head is a-turnin’.

Meanwhile, In The Dark’s scribbler beat himself, as it were, while 20 years after her death, the public’s fascination with Princess Diana remains unquenched.

POLDARK

The third series of BBC1’s Poldark finished on Sunday 6 August at 9pm with 6.1million/25% after 1.3million recorded and watched, the third highest of the series.

The best rating of this run was 11 June’s opener of 6.7million/23% in a series that averaged 6.1million/24% over nine episodes. Last autumn’s second series average (6.4million/24%) was just ahead in millions but par in share.

The opener’s 4 million/28% was its best for ABC1 Adults in this series , which averaged 3.7million/28%, down from last autumn’s 4 million/30%.

DIANA: IN HER OWN WORDS

Channel 4 documentary Diana: In Her Own Words’ 4.9million/21%, after 1.3million recorded and watched, became the channel’s highest-rated programme of 2017 so far, ahead of Friday 23 June’s The Crystal Maze Celebrity Special (3.4million/14%).

It’s also C4’s third best performer in the past 18 months after We’re Going On A Bear Hunt on Christmas Eve (6.8million/24%) and Gogglebox on 19 February 2016 (5.8million/21%).

It also scored C4’s best ABC1 Adults profile of the year to date: 2.7million/22% put it ahead of May v Corbyn Live: The Battle for Number 10 on 29 May (2.1million/17%).

IN THE DARK

BBC1’s four-part thriller In The Dark finished on Tuesday at 9pm with 5.8million/25% after 1.9million recorded and watched. Overall, the series averaged 5.9million/25% with 11 July’s opener the best (6.6million/27%).

The series fared better than last summer’s Tuesday BBC1 9pm drama, The Living And The Dead which averaged 2.5million/12% from 28 June for six weeks. It was also better than writer Danny Brocklehurst’s last BBC1 Tuesday drama Ordinary Lies, which averaged 4.5million/18% from 18 October 2016.

In The Dark achieved 3.4million/28% for ABC1 Adults compared with The Living And the Dead’s 1.2million/12% and Ordinary Lies’ 2.4million/20%.