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Jonathan Ross pulls in 4.3m viewers to debut ITV1 show
Ross left the BBC after 13 years in 2010 - more than a year after the so-called '"Sachs-gate" affair
Jonathan Ross drew a respectable 4.3m viewers for the debut of his new ITV1 chat show, initial figures show.
The hour-long Jonathan Ross Show began at 21:45 BST, following ratings winner The X Factor and the results show of Simon Cowell's Red or Black?
Ross, who announced his departure from the BBC in January 2010, drew around 21% of viewers, the largest share of the audience at that time.
Critics were lukewarm, saying ITV had made few changes to Ross's BBC format.
"Jonathan Ross returned to prime-time television tonight with a new chat show that looked remarkably like his old one - and, well, made a pretty good fist of it," wrote the Telegraph's Serena Davies.
"Different channel, same old show!" decried the headline from Daily Mail reviewer Sarah Bull.
"Minus the Four Poofs and a Piano and the bright violet colours, the show if anything looks classier, but the content is almost identical to its BBC predecessor," commented Metro Online.
Runaway successThe Jonathan Ross Show - which drew a peak audience of 4.6 million - saw the presenter interview Hollywood actress Sarah Jessica Parker, singer Adele and Formula 1's Lewis Hamilton.
Competition for viewers included Channel Five's Celebrity Big Brother, which took 1.5m viewers and 7.6% of the audience in an identical timeslot, C4's Million Pound Drop and BBC Two's Proms coverage.
BBC One coverage at the time included the end of John Bishop's Britain, BBC News and the first half of Ricky Gervais film Ghost Town, and hovered around 12.5% of the audience share.
However, the runaway success of the night was talent show The X Factor, which continues to cement its flagship status on ITV1 with 11.1 million viewers.
The final episode of Friday Night with Jonathan Ross on BBC One was watched by 4.6m viewers in July 2010 - easily the most watched episode of the show's run that year, which pulled in an average of 3.1 million each week.
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Comment number 135.
clovisguy4th September 2011 - 22:27
Personally, I can't abide the guy. But that does not give me the right to criticize those who do. If you do't like him don't watch him, there are plenty of other channels to choose from.
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Comment number 82.
The One That Got Away4th September 2011 - 18:41
Are we missing something or can the BBC and ITV bosses see some talent in this guy. I sure the hell can't!
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Comment number 76.
neil4th September 2011 - 18:34
I watched the show last night mainly because of the guests who were appearing,but I must say that I had forgotten how good Jonathon Ross is at his job,the show was funny,entertaining and he engaged well with his guests,ok he may not be to everyones taste but then again what is ?? People who complain without watching are just showing the small mindedness that unfortunately is ruining broadcasting
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Comment number 69.
stephen4th September 2011 - 18:22
Jonathan Ross looked like a lost soul on ITV. His guests were a bit 'staid' and the 'canned laughter' spoke volumes...i reckon most viewers, like me, tuned-in out of curiosity. Next week's figures will be a better 'guide'. I doubt i will watch the show again, unless he has a really good 'headline' guest.
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Comment number 19.
markspurs4th September 2011 - 15:34
It was ok but please don't let him write any jokes, whoever writes them for him just stop, please they're terrible. Also many of the questions he gave seemed to just be asked because he hoped there would be a punchline at the end rather than actually wanting to find out something.
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