Bad news, Johnny
Dead Man Weds sheds viewers
ITV1 sitcom Dead Man Weds has lost 700,000 viewers in its first week on air.
The show, starring Johnny Vegas as a bumbling local newspaper reporter, was seen by 3.4 million viewers on its first outing.
But Wednesday’s second installment, transmitted at 10pm, lost a fifth of that audience to average a disappointing 2.7 per cent – or just 13 per cent of the audience.
The sitcom, written by Phoenix Nights co-creator Dave Spikey, who also stars as the newspaper editor, faces tough competition from Channel 4’s much-hyped Desperate Housewives.
That show was seen by 4.8 million viewers, more than a quarter of the total.
However, despite the low viewing figures, the critics have generally warmed to Dead Man Weds.
The Guardian’s Nancy Bank-Smith called it “endearing and cheerful” with the Sunday Mirror’s Ian Hyland called it “laugh-out-loud brilliant”.
But in the Sunday Times, AA Gill called it “a bit embarrassing and sad”.Published: 14 Jan 2005
