Overnight viewing figures were at 4.1m viewers for Episode 1 of Series 4, then climbed to 5.55m to accommodate ITV player views. Figures including the ITV player rent sales of the second episode, however, still dropped to 4.09m. My prediction that the buzz created by people already having seen the second ep wouldn’t necessarily work in the show’s favour came true, then. Overnight ratings for Episodes 3 and 4 are lower still, and even including rent sales and simple stream access I’m afraid it might not top Episode 2, let alone Episode 1. At least more people were curious as to the resolution of the second case — perhaps the first parts weren’t exciting enough? Perhaps the — now familiar — format encourages a viewing pattern that isn’t exactly ideal?

In any case, these ratings are the least successful in Whitechapel‘s four-series run.