What, no Agatha? Festive TV ratings take a dive

IT was a noticeable hole in the Christmas TV schedule for viewers, with many mourning the absence of an Agatha Christie mystery to curl up in front of on Boxing Day.

And the BBC seemed to miss having an all-star adaptation to rely on, as just two of its December 26 shows broke the fourmillion mark in the overnight ratings.

It was forced to pull its big-budget version of 1958 novel Ordeal by Innocence, following three sex assault allegations against one of its stars, British actor Ed Westwick.

And the drama that it chose to fill the 9pm slot, The Miniaturist, struggled to attract the same level of audience as recent BBC adaptations of Miss Christie’s works.

Just under 3million tuned in to see Romola Garai and Anya Taylor-Joy star in the dark period drama, set in 17th-century Amsterdam and adapted from Jessie Burton’s bestselling novel.

That compares to the 4.7million who tuned in to The Witness for the Prosecution last year, and the 6million who saw And Then There Were None in 2015. The only two BBC shows to pull in more than 4million viewers were EastEnders and Snow Bears, a dramatised story of an epic journey undertaken by a polar bear and her cubs.

Meanwhile, the first instalment of Little Women, combining experienced stars such as Dame Angela Lansbury, Sir Michael Gambon and Emily Watson with newcomers such as Uma Thurman’s daughter Maya Hawke, was seen by 3.6million in the 8pm slot.

Yet some criticised accents, and the music for drowning out dialogue. In contrast to Christmas Day, when the BBC dominated its rivals, ITV had three of the top five shows, boasting audiences of over 4million for Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Jurassic World.