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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Susan Knox

Prince Harry's interview trounced in ratings by BBC's Happy Valley

Prince Harry has suffered a blow in the ratings after it has been revealed more people watched the latest instalment of Happy Valley rather than tuning into his bombshell interview with journalist Tom Bradby.

The Duke of Sussex, 38, sat down with Tom to discuss his crumbling relationship with Royal family on Sunday night, with over four million viewers tuning in.

Despite weeks of anticipation over Harry's bombshell interview, it seems that the British public have grown tired of his narrative, with more viewers tuning in to watch BBC's Happy Valley.

Overnight 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 figures are just one third of the audience reach that Harry and his wife Meghan Markle garnered for their interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021.

It seems that the British public have grown tired of Prince Harry's narrative, with more viewers tuning in to watch BBC's Happy Valley (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

The bombshell Oprah interview had 12.4 million viewers on the edge of their seats at the time, but Harry's latest interview with ITV appeared flop in comparison.

While Harry's interview aired on ITV, BBC bosses enjoyed an incredibly successful night despite the Duke of Sussex's hotly-anticipated chat with Tom Bradby.

Call The Midwife, which aired directly before Happy Valley, secured 5.61million viewers.

While Happy Valley followed behind with a whopping, 5.25million.

A whopping, 5.25million viewers tuned into Happy Valley (BBC/Red Productions)

Even the stars said there was no contest as viewers deserted 'Unhappy Harry' for gritty crime drama Happy Valley.

His ITV interview didn't entice everyone to switch over as he continues to plug controversial new book Spare.

The Duke's explosive memoir explores the royal's entire life, starting with his very public childhood, death of mum Princess Diana and his teenage struggles with drugs and sex, papers report.

Then it delves into his military experience, his marriage to Meghan Markle and the breakdown of his relationship with the rest of the Royal Family.

However, a lot people in the UK were seemingly more moved by the performance of Sarah Lancashire and Siobhan Finneran's in the West Yorkshire-based show.

People have grown tired of Prince Harry slamming the Royal family (ITV)

TV presenter Eamonn Holmes asked: "9pm on The Telly .... Happy Valley or Unhappy Harry?"

While comedian Kate Robbins chimed in: "TV ratings battle. Happy Valley v. Prince Harry."

They weren't those only ones debating whether to sit through the interview as Harry lifted the lid on conversations with his father King Charles and brother Prince William, including the revelation that he asked his father not to marry Camilla.

In the interview, Harry accused members of his family of 'getting into bed with the devil' to restore their image, and the King of sacrificing Harry's interests in favour of his own.

Harry accused members of his family of 'getting into bed with the devil' (ITV)

He also criticised 'family members' for a 'really horrible reaction' on the day the Queen died.

It was the first of four broadcast appearances scheduled over the coming days.

Harry also spoke to Anderson Cooper for 60 Minutes on CBS News on Sunday night in the US.

He will talk to Michael Strahan of Good Morning America on Monday and Stephen Colbert on the Late Show on CBS on Wednesday.

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