EastEnders: Ronnie’s exit draws 7.9 million viewers

The exit of controversial character Ronnie Branning was watched by 7.9 million viewers, early ratings data shows.

 

The hour long installment which began at 7.30pm on BBC One clashed with the second episode of Emmerdale on ITV 1, which began at 8.00pm. Emmerdale just managed to get over the 4 million mark, with ITV 1 and ITV 1+1 viewing figures added together. On BBC Three, the EastEnders repeat attracted 1.07 million viewers at 10.00pm. On Channel 5, a new episode of Cowboy Builders proved popular, attracting 1.62 million, although there was disappointment with Candy Bar Girls which followed at 10.00pm. The new reality series could only muster up 740,000 despite heavy promotion, which had been criticised for being too raunchy.