Massive Merlin Overnight Ratings

Benefits hugely from being part of a Strictly Come Dancing sandwich

Merlin surged to its biggest overnight ratings of the series – by a huge margin – with an overnight viewing figure of 7.19 million viewers. That’s over a million viewers better than series four’s previous best: “Lancelot Du Lac” with 6.01 million. We also believe it’s the best overnight ever achieved by the show (though we have yet to have that 100% 1confirmed – we’re not just trusting Wikipedia ).

The episode did, of course, benefit from two factors. First, it was part of a Strictly Come Dancing Final sandwich, airing between the two parts of the big dance-off, which achieved phenomenal ratings (12.18 and 11.94 million). Also, Merlin wasn’t up against The X-Factor this week. But whatever the reasons, it’s a still a fantastic result for the show. Roll on Christmas Eve.

Dave Golder
Freelance Writer

Dave is a TV and film journalist who specializes in the science fiction and fantasy genres. He's written books about film posters and post-apocalypses, alongside writing for SFX Magazine for many years.