Broadchurch, which was acclaimed by critics and viewers alike for its first series, dropped to an average of 5.2 million viewers, a 20.7 per cent share last night.
Silent Witness averaged 5.9 million viewers, a 23.6 per cent share.
The drama has also come under attack from a resurgent Celebrity Big Brother on Channel 5, which won 2.1 million viewers and an 8.5 per cent share.
This series of Broadchurch started well, with 7.6 million viewers and a 30.1 per cent share in the opening episode. By episode two, it had dropped to 6.1 million, a 22.4 per cent share.
The show has now lost a total of 2.4 million since the launch of the second series.
Heavily influenced by the spate of Scandinavian dramas like The Killing, Broadchurch’s first series told the slowly unfolding story of the killing of a boy in a small town.
The show featured two strong and popular leads (the former Dr Who David Tennant and Olivia Colman) and won three awards at the Baftas and the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards.
However, the second series has not found its stride, with increasingly fanciful storylines. For example, , and the Daily Mail published .
.jpg)
.jpg)