Last night’s Bonekickers shed 1.6 million viewers compared with its opening audience of 6.8 million, according to unofficial overnight figures reported in today’s Guardian. But that still leaves 5.2 million people hoping against hope that it could be better. Clinging on to their own relics of expectation in the face of the old bones being dug up and served cold with the mud of the Bristol Channel still clinging to them.

Still, when its main competition is a rerun of the terminally bland Doc Martin on ITV1 and Gordon Ramsay’s F Word on 4 it’s not surprising a majority decided to stick with Mogwai and her crew. There was simply nothing else on!

That proportion of the 5.2 mill who were back from last week to give it one more chance will be digging around the UKTV and minor digital channels next week for reruns of Morse and CSI, or deciding that the Tuesday pub quiz does look quite inviting after all. Expect another 1.6 million drop. Will there be an audience left for episode 6? Watch this space. Or don’t, as the case may be.