ITV’s wartime drama Joe Maddison’s War attracted more than 6 million viewers on Sunday night, giving the late Alan Plater’s final television drama a strong opening audience.
The drama, which aired on ITV1 and ITV1 HD on September 19, averaged 6.154 million viewers and a 26.8% audience share from 9pm. ITV1 HD accounted for 283,000 of those viewers.
Written by Plater and starring Kevin Whately and Robson Green, the film follows two Geordie friends who volunteer for the Home Guard as Britain enters the Second World War. Whately plays Joe Maddison, a Tyneside shipyard worker and First World War veteran whose personal life is thrown into turmoil as the new war begins.
Strong lead-in from The X Factor
The ITV drama benefited from a substantial audience inherited from The X Factor, which aired immediately beforehand.
The final auditions episode attracted 11.583 million viewers, representing a 42% share, across ITV1 and ITV1 HD from 7.45pm. ITV1 HD contributed 593,000 viewers.
That gave Joe Maddison’s War a particularly strong platform for its 9pm broadcast.
How the drama compared with its rivals
The ITV drama faced a range of competing programmes across the other major channels.
BBC1’s Ewan McGregor factual programme The Battle of Britain averaged 4.269 million viewers, with a 16.3% share. BBC HD added 133,000 viewers, representing a 0.5% share.
On BBC2, a repeat of Victoria Wood: Seen on TV attracted 2.029 million viewers, equivalent to a 7.8% share.
Channel 4’s terrestrial premiere of the film Jumper, including C4+1, drew 2.477 million viewers, with a 10.6% share.
Channel 5’s repeat showing of Hitch recorded 1.34 million viewers, or a 6.3% share.
Meanwhile, Sky1’s talent competition Must Be the Music averaged 369,000 viewers for the first part of its final from 7pm. Its results programme, broadcast at 8.45pm, drew a further 341,000 viewers. Glaswegian busker Emma Gillespie won the public vote.
The night’s other major ratings
Among the five main terrestrial networks, BBC1’s new series of Antiques Roadshow attracted 5.545 million viewers, while BBC2’s Match of the Day 2 at 10pm recorded 2.545 million.
ITV1’s The Cube, which was also beginning a new series, drew 5.167 million viewers at 6.45pm.
On Channel 4, Celebrity Come Dine with Me averaged 1.128 million viewers, including C4+1, while Channel 5’s repeat of Men in Black 2 attracted 1.694 million at 7.20pm.
Among the free-to-air digital channels, The Xtra Factor on ITV2 drew 886,000 viewers, including ITV2+1. E4’s new series of Life Unexpected attracted 295,000 at 7pm, including E4+1.
Pay-TV audiences were led by Sky Sports 1, where the live Super Sunday match between Manchester United and Liverpool attracted 1.789 million viewers. The later match between Chelsea and Blackpool drew 1.313 million.
Alan Plater’s final television drama
Joe Maddison’s War was particularly notable as the final television drama written by Alan Plater, who died aged 75 on June 25, 2010. His career in television, theatre and film spanned around five decades and included works such as The Beiderbecke Affair, Fortunes of War and A Very British Coup.
The drama was set in the north-east of England on the eve of the Second World War. Joe, a decorated veteran who is too old to enlist again, joins the Home Guard with his friend Harry, played by Robson Green, as he searches for a renewed sense of purpose. Derek Jacobi also appears in the cast.
The film was directed by Patrick Collerton and produced by Mammoth Screen for ITV.
The ratings were based on BARB overnight figures, covering live viewing and same-day timeshifted viewing, with HD, +1 and other viewing excluded unless specifically stated.
