Emmerdale soared to 7.3 million viewers with its dramatic helicopter crash storyline, official figures have revealed.
The ITV soap pulled in overnight ratings above the 6 million mark earlier this month as a helicopter crashed into Debbie Dingle and Pete Barton's wedding reception, causing death and destruction in the village.
However, new figures released by BARB today (August 17) have revealed that the episodes piled on extra viewers once recordings were taken into account.
The hour-long crash episode on August 4, which had an overnight rating of 6.37m, rose up to a 7-day figure of 7.2m on ITV and 316k on ITV+1.
Ruby Haswell's death episode on August 5 increased from 6.59m in the overnights to a consolidated number of 7.32m on ITV and 259k on +1.
The final twists in the storyline in a double bill on August 6, when Val Pollard and Ross Barton were killed off, also performed well. 6.9m saw the first episode (+1: 257k) while 7.24m watched the second (+1: 386k).
BARB's consolidated numbers differ from the overnight figures as they include those who recorded the episodes and caught up in the 7 days after broadcast.
Coronation Street was the most-watched soap of the week in question. Monday's 8.30pm episode on August 3, which saw Sarah Platt threatened by Callum Logan, did particularly well with an impressive 7-day figure of 8.33m (+1: 219k).
