The Fall drops 700,000 viewers as it struggles against The Apprentice in ratings clash
THE FALL bid farewell to over a quarter of its audience last night as it went head-to-head with The Apprentice in the ratings.
Moment Michelle gets fired on The Apprentice
The BBC Two drama will be hoping for a boost from iPlayer over the coming days after slipping to 1.8 million viewers in the 9pm hour yesterday - down 700,000 on the previous week’s 2.5 million.
Its audience share was a worrying 8.8%, down from 12.5% the previous Wednesday.
The Apprentice, meanwhile, easily won its slot with a cosy 5.6 million, although its change of day seemingly hurt it - as its first episode logged 800,000 fewer fans than last year.
The business programme traditionally airs on Wednesdays but has this year been shunted to Thursdays, which could account for the downturn from last year’s 6.4 million opener.
The Fall and The Apprentice clashed in the ratings
Michelle was the first casualty of the boardroom
The Fall has become a big drama hit for BBC Two
Spin-off show You’re Fired also took a minor hit, dunking to 1.5 million (9.7% share) on BBC Two from last year’s 1.9 million (10.6%).
Paranoid also struggled, losing viewers for the second week running and landing on 2.6 million (12.2%).
This year’s The Apprentice marks its twelfth series, with losing project manager Michelle Niziol becoming the first to face the axe.
She told Express.co.uk: “I was really shocked, I thought Rebecca [Jeffery] was going and then I get fired.
Another load of candidates are lined up to face Lord Sugar
“I understood the reasons: I was project manager, we failed the task. So it was really difficult for [Lord Sugar] in week one because he doesn’t know anyone really.
“He doesn’t know what you’re capable of doing, so I was just in shock to be perfectly honest with you.”
The Apprentice continues next Thursday at 9pm on BBC Two.