Britain’s Got Talent tops Call the Midwife as British TV’s top show in 2017

Britain's

Britain’s Got Talent now has a new title that it can stop in and celebrate — the most-watched television program in Great Britain for all of 2017 to date.

Last night’s new episode, which featured the audition of dance group Just Us receiving the Golden Buzzer from one Alesha Dixon, ended up receiving in total 9.2 million viewers. This was enough for the show to topple the also-impressive 9.1 million viewers watched by Call the Midwife earlier this year.

If we were to gauge the popularity of Britain’s Got Talent … well, we don’t think that it’s all that hard. Out of anything that is airing on television at the moment, this is the show that best encapsulates what people want to get — escapism. You laugh at the stupidity of some of the acts, and then you have others like Just Us and the Missing People Choir who move you to tears. This is a show that can accomplish so many different things, and it’s so hard to find another show that accomplishes all of that. There are some times when it brings out those deep feelings from you.

As for Call the Midwife, ironically it’s a show that can do much of the same thing. Sure, it doesn’t give you the same sort of silly humor that you get on the Simon Cowell-produced talent competition, but it does achieve much of the same thing with the heartfelt moments and the relatability that you often feel. These two shows feel almost like quintessential British TV traditions, and we can see the two of them collectively lasting for a rather long time.

What makes their respective performance here all the more impressive is that you have to remember that we’re in an era at this point where watching television live is not considered much of a priority at all by many people. There is not that same sort of zeal or excitement for doing it that there was once, and it often takes a rather special show in order to make that happen. Luckily, BGT manages that in a difficult era.

Why do you think the ratings for BGT are what they are, and do you think they could still rise moving forward? Be sure to share below!

Meanwhile, head over to the link here in the event you are interested in reading our full review for Sunday night’s all-new episode of the series. (Photo: ITV.)

Love TV? Be sure to like Matt & Jess on Facebook for more updates!