Harry's interview loses ratings war to BBC's Happy Valley
Harry’s interview is trumped by Happy Valley and Call the Midwife: 5.25m tuned in to watch Sarah Lancashire while BBC period drama was watched by 5.1m – compared to just 4.10m for Prince’s Tom Bradby interview
Prince Harry has suffered a ratings blow as it emerged more people watched the latest episode of Happy Valley than his blistering interview with Tom Bradby.
The Duke of Sussex, 38, sat down with his friend on ITV at 9pm to hurl another series of barbs at the Royal Family – with more than four million viewers tuning in.
But despite weeks of fevered anticipation, it appears Brits are more interested in the story of a formidable, down to earth West Yorkshire policewoman than that of a multi-millionaire prince looking to air yet more dirty laundry.
BARB figures show the BBC drama starring Sarah Lancashire – which also aired at 9pm – was watched by 5.25m viewers compared to Harry: The Interview’s 4.10m. Call The Midwife, which aired directly before Happy Valley, secured 5.61m.
The Duke of Sussex , 38, sat down with his friend Tom Bradby on ITV to hurl another series of barbs at the Royal Family – with more than four million viewers tuning in
Figures from BARB show that BBC ’s drama starring Sarah Lancashire was watched by 5.25million viewers compared to Harry: The Interview’s 4.10million
The Duke’s interview with Bradby racked up just a third of the 12.4m viewers who tuned in to watch the Sussexes’ tell-all with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021.
The figures provide an early sign the public is growing tired of a seemingly endless string of media appearances by Harry and his wife, Meghan.
Viewers reacted to the viewing figures on Twitter, with one writing: ‘Watched the interview for about 15 minutes – couldn’t bear any more of it, the voice over of him narrating the book was just too much.’
A second tweeted: ‘For me, the main difference between Happy Valley and the Harry Interview is that you had to watch Happy Valley to know what was going on. I’m still being swamped with the details of Harry’s Interview. No need to watch a second of it.’
A third added: ‘Happy Valley is a drama about a group of people we see their stories played out, the other is just a story from one person’s perspective.’
The Bradby sit-down was the first of four primetime interviews he will give to plug his memoir, Spare – which was officially published today days after being prematurely put on sale in Spain.
The 38-year-old once again turned a flamethrower on his family, accusing them of being ‘complicit’ in the ‘pain and suffering’ inflicted on his wife and even comparing them to ‘abusers’.
He suggested they helped to ‘trash’ his and Meghan’s reputations, forcing them to move to California, and have ‘shown no willingness to reconcile’.
In a 90-minute discussion, the at times techy royal accused his family of ‘getting in bed with the devil’, and despite conceding they were not racist claimed they were guilty of ‘unconscious bias’.
Harry also backed the Queen’s former lady in waiting, Lady Susan Hussey, who was embroiled in a toxic race row last month, saying she ‘never meant any harm’.
In a later interview with CBS’s Anderson Cooper in the US last night, Harry had harsh words for Camilla, who he accused of being a ‘villain’ who ‘needed to rehabilitate her image’.
He added that she was ‘dangerous’ and leaking stories to the media in a bid to get the crown.
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