• MasterChef’s Mount Fuji immunity challenge ranks #1 25-54
• House Rules #1 all people as final four sorted: Gold Coast v Adelaide
• Goodbye matron – goodbye Love Child? It felt like last episode ever
See full ratings figures on the Mediaweek Morning Report here.
Seven
Home and Away is having a Facebook Live session tomorrow afternoon with Sophie Dillman, who plays Ziggy Astoni. (It actually clashes with Mediaweek TV on Sky News Business, but there will perhaps not be too much crossover audience.) Meanwhile the Wednesday episode of the soap did 732,000.
House Rules saw Adelaide’s Kate and Harry the first team through to the Grand Final after the judges handed in their scores on the charity makeovers with the renovators securing the highest possible score of 30 out of 30. The twins Andrew and Jono grimaced when they got a seven out of 10 from Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen which meant they were out of the show, narrowly losing to Gold Coast glamour stars Aaron and Daniella (who received an eight from all three judges) who are the other couple in the Sunday showdown. There were tears welling all around as the likeable lads exited the studio. Seven revealed a minor spoiler about Sunday – it will be the closest House Rules Grand Final ever in the battle for the $200,000 prize money. The penultimate episode of the 2017 season did 976,000.
The busy new production company Eureka Productions is behind Seven’s new Behave Yourself panel show. It didn’t seem to be breaking new ground though with Darren McMullen fronting yet another series and Lawrence Mooney appearing on another panel show. It attracted a first night audience of 510,000, ranking third in the slot, but not far behind Love Child.
Nine
A Current Affair featured an undercover dad who posed as a bikie to try to track his daughter down. Later in the show longtime Nine contributor Paul Clitheroe offered financial year advice and the show updated viewers on yesterday’s court appearance by former ACA reporter Ben McCormack. The Tuesday episode did 878,000.
20 To One did its best to entertain with 493,000 watching after 510,000 last week.
The series final of Love Child saw matron Frances Bolton (Mandy McElhinney) under pressure after it was revealed she had mixed up Joan’s (Jessica Marais) daughter. Called before the board, matron admitted it was her mistake alone and she resigned her position. Plenty of tears when Joan subsequently got her bub back. It was 1972 as the series wrapped with Gough Whitlam installed as Australia’s new prime minister. All the loose ends were tidied up as The Masters Apprentices played “Because I Love You” in the background. Matron was reading a travel guide for Italy. Certainly felt like the last episode ever. The series final did 532,000 after 543,000 last week.
TEN
The channel had lots to like with big guests and major events on both local productions after 7.30pm.
The Project had a big fish last night with Sir Richard Branson joining the desk, but right at the end of the show. In just five minutes the hosts only got a few questions in as Sir Richard entertained and flirted in his own flamboyant manner. It was a good segment, but it could have gone on longer. The 7pm half hour did 609,000.
MasterChef teased that it would be the biggest immunity challenge in MasterChef history. That is a big claim when you are in season nine, yet the program delivered. The setting couldn’t have been more dramatic with the three contestants fighting each other for a pin, not a professional chef in sight. After Ben was left out of the challenge it left the two girls Sarah and Karlie. When the judges couldn’t fault either dish it seemed they might create history and both get a pin. But no, after some more mutterings between the judges they chose Sarah as the victor. The show did 879,000 after 894,000 on Tuesday a week ago.
Shark Tank was making a big claim too with the promise of the biggest deal ever. The program started with former MasterChef contestant Heather Day asking for $50,000 to develop her butter project. The sharks sampled the product and they liked what they tasted, but they baulked at her business model. Day ended up with two offers and went with Naomi Simson‘s offer of $50k for 33% equity. The producers made viewers sit through some pole dancing from Janine Allis before we got to the big deal. iCapsulate woke up the sharks with a business that had generated $4m revenue after 18 months. The owner had knocked back $25m for the business recently. He soon had three offers for $2.5m for varying amounts of equity – the biggest offers ever made on the show. The business ended up going with Andrew Banks at $2.5m for 22.5% of the business. The show was on 725,000 after 737,000 on debut last week.
ABC
Ask The Doctor is up to episode eight. The episode last night was all about genes, which could have been an episode of Catalyst. The audience of 360,000 was well down on last week’s 448,000.
A change of pace at 8.30pm with the screening of Diana: Seven Days That Shook The World. It lifted the audience to 541,000. It was shown originally on Channel 5 in the UK as Seven Days That Shook The Windsors.
We’re Going On A Bear Hunt was a report from Eric Campbell in Estonia about Estonia living in the shadow of Russia with 305,000 watching.
SBS
Just days after we been telling Michael Portillo about how he stars three nights a week on the channel, suddenly it’s down to “only” two. (See our interview with him in the current Mediaweek magazine.) Great Continental Railway Journeys has been given a rest on Tuesdays – yet the host is still in the schedule on Thursday and Fridays.
The 7.30pm Tuesday replacement is Michael Mosley: Queen Victoria’s Slum about putting modern-day Britons in Victorian living conditions. Episode one did 359,000 which was a strong start. The prolific Mosley is back next Monday too with Meet The Humans.
An episode of Insight on solo parents followed with 224,000.
Dateline followed at 9.30pm with the story of street food disappearing from Bangkok streets on government orders. Aussie chef David Thompson spoke about the joys of street food as 184,000 watched.
Cycling fans had to wait until well after 10pm for Le Tour de France with stage four well and truly inside France after some days spent in Germany and Belgium. The start of the stage could be viewed though on the Škoda Tour Tracker streaming service.