Comedy pilot grabs biggest share

FOR the second week in a row, a comedy pilot screened on BBC Scotland beat off the challenge from rival channels, such as Channel 4.

In Voluntary was the second of three comedy pilots being shown on successive Fridays, the first being Dear Green Place, starring Ford Kiernan and Paul Riley, which comfortably eclipsed the opposition.

But it was a closer-run thing this time.

Starring Karen Dunbar, In Voluntary was watched by an average 320,000 people in Scotland, or 22 per cent of the TV-viewing audience at the time. But the news on ITV1 came in at just one percentage point lower.

Meanwhile, Charlotte Church, on Channel 4, pulled in an average 157,000 (9.2 per cent share) and the figure for The Trouble with Celebrity, on Five, was estimated at 100,000 (6.2 per cent).

The third of the comedy pilot trio, Legit, is broadcast this Friday, at 10.35pm.