The contestants on Nine’s Married At First Sight might be getting plenty of press for its nastiness, but it’s certainly not turning viewers off.
And, if last night’s episode proved anything, the dating show has roared to its best ever viewer numbers, snaring some 1.38 million according to OzTam figures.
Reports in the press have said contestants on the show had been bullied, plied with alcohol by producers, forced to film until 4am, and even denied toilet breaks. One contestant telling News.com.au, “There’s no support, you’re treated like monkeys, you basically beg to go for toilet breaks. The filming – because it goes for so long – you’re tired, you’re drunk, you’re not yourself, they get you at your worst. I was boozy, they booze you up. They encourage it. They’re just free-pouring the whole time.”
Another added: “How do they edit this and completely not give a sh*t about people’s lives? “They don’t give a sh*t about what others think of these people.”
Meanwhile, it appears most of Australia stayed home last night and watched TV, with Seven’s My Kitchen Rules the second most watched show of the night with an impressive 1.25 million viewers.
Ten’s decision to dump The Biggest Loser – not only from Sunday nights but weekdays too – hasn’t exactly helped the ailing network. The replacement show, Modern Family, only managed 431,000, which, to be fair, was a good 180,000 more than the weight loss show was managing.
Seven won the night with with 33 per cent audience share, then Nine 31.6 per cent. The ABC again beat Ten (14.9 per cent versus 13.0 per cent respectively) and SBS landed 7.5 per cent.
Seven did well with its news with 1.24 million viewers and Sunday Night which pulled 764,000. However, it would be disappointed with In Cold Blood: The Chris Lane Story which managed just 375,000.
Nine News managed 1.22 million viewers and 60 Minutes had 830,000. Lethal Weapon drew179,000.
Over at the ABC, its 7pm news bulletin had 703,000, Grand Designs managed 547,000 and Melbourne Comedy Festival Gala some 447,000. However, My Year 12 Life and Julia Zemiro’s Home Delivery (albeit a repeat) both managed a poor 107,000.
Ten’s best was Modern Family with 431,000 and Bull with 373,000. Its news could manage only 302,000 and Bondi Rescue 335,000.
