The Tourist ratings revealed as it’s beaten by Mr Bates vs The Post Office

The Tourist’s season 2 premiere was watched by 2.4 million fewer viewers than its first ever episode.

By James Hibbs

Published: Tuesday, 02 January 2024 at 15:17 PM

BBC thriller The Tourist returned with a bang on Monday night (1st January), back in the same New Year’s Day slot in which the first season debuted in 2022.

However, while fans may have been gripped by the latest instalment, it did take a steep drop when it came to ratings in comparison with season 1, being watched by 2.2 million viewers rather than the 4.6 million who tuned in to the show’s first ever episode.

The 2.2 million viewership means the episode was comfortably beaten by the first instalment of ITV’s Mr Bates vs the Post Office, which was watched by 3.6 million.

These are only overnight figures and do not account for those watching each of the show’s on catch-up. Both The Tourist season 2 and Mr Bates vs the Post Office are available to stream in full now, on BBC iPlayer and ITVX respectively.

Alan Bates (played by Toby Jones) stands outside a courthouse with a serious facial expression
Toby Jones plays Alan Bates in Mr Bates vs the Post Office.
ITV Studios

The Tourist was originally thought to have ended after its first season came to its conclusion, with writers Harry and Jack Williams revealing they didn’t intend on making a second, but explaining why they changed their minds.

Jack said: “No, we didn’t plan it. Not in the sense that we said it wouldn’t happen, but we always kind of want to tell the best stories and in season 1 we just thought, ‘Let’s leave nothing behind. Let’s not try and leave it open ended deliberately’.

“But there were definitely times [when] watching the first season we did think, ‘Well, you know, Jamie’s character Elliot has a whole history behind him’, we knew we weren’t going to find out all of it, so we knew there was going to be a little gap somewhere that we could explore.

Read more:

“And it was a lot of fun, and working with actors like Danielle and Jamie is just amazing. So we kind of thought that it felt like once we had the right idea, it felt the right thing to do.”

Lead actor Jamie Dornan revealed that he was also unsure about a return, but that the show’s location switch, from Australia to his native Ireland, played a large part in his decision to come back as Elliot Stanley.

The Tourist is available to stream in full on BBC iPlayer now, while Mr Bates vs the Post Office is available to stream in full on ITVX. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on.

Want to visit Death in Paradise locations in Guadeloupe at a discount? Radio Times is offering savings of up to 7% for registered users booking their next holiday with travel website Expedia. Claim your exclusive Radio Times Expedia holiday discount now.

Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10 – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.