EastEnders tops Thursday soap ratings with murder plot

EastEnders was the most-watched soap on Thursday evening (August 16) with the aftermath of Shirley Carter's big discovery, overnight figures show.



The Walford drama pulled in 7.41m (36.8%) at 7.30pm on BBC One as Phil desperately tried to convince Shirley not to report Ben to the police over Heather's murder. BBC Three's repeat screening secured 591k (3.5%) at 10.30pm.

Coronation Street, meanwhile, attracted 6.95m (31.1%) at 8.30pm on ITV1 and 255k (1.2%) on +1 as Katy and Izzy's surrogacy storyline began.

Emmerdale appealed to 6.15m (33.1%) at 7pm and 130k (0.6%) on timeshift as Brenda spotted a kiss between Pollard and Val, while her decision to dump Pollard was seen by 6.1m (29.5%) at 8pm and 237k (1.1%) on +1.

Hollyoaks managed 654k (3.8%) at 6.30pm on Channel 4 with the latest developments in the Mitzeee, Riley and Mercedes love triangle, while E4's first look interested 451k (2.4%) at 7pm and 152k (0.7%) an hour later.

Over on Channel 5, Neighbours claimed 736k (10.2%) at 1.45pm and 858k (6.6%) at 5.30pm, while the latest classic episodes of Home and Away on 5* were enjoyed by 168k (1.1%) and 169k (1.0%) at 6pm and 6.30pm respectively.

Elsewhere, the latest edition of Doctors - titled 'Car Wars' - took 1.11m (15.5%) at 1.45pm on BBC One.