RATINGS REPORT: 17-23 AUGUST 2026, MOST WATCHED SHOWS REVEALED
The latest 7-day consolidated ratings for programmes shown or released for the last week have been released by BARB. The top-50 breakdown can be found on BARB's website here.
The return of hit comedy drama Ludwig, starring David Mitchell, topped the week with 6,605,700 for its first episode of its second series. It was over one million ahead of the second highest rating show which was the sixth and final episode of Diane Morgan's Ann Droid on Friday night with 5,582,300.
The Voice UK returned to screens after two years with 2,420,500 for its ninth series on ITV. Also on Saturday night, The Hit List and Alan Carr's Picture Slam were watched by 2,261,300 and 2,302,700 respectively.
The Great British Sewing Bee continued on Tuesday night with 4,120,000 whilst Celebrity MasterChef followed and returned with 2,861,900 viewers. Dragons' Den also returned with new episodes leading in to Ludwig with an audience of 2,545,700.
In drama, Professor T returned for its long awaited fourth series on ITV to 2,673,900. In factual, Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace concluded with 2,192,800.
All programmes mentioned above are available to stream on their respective broadcaster's platform.
