The Crane Gang

British TV series or programme
  • Samantha Anstiss
  • Maxine Watson
  • Matthew Gordon
  • Jamie Isaacs
ProducerEmma LoveRunning time60 minutesProduction companyAvalon GroupOriginal releaseNetwork
  • BBC Two
  • BBC Two HD
Release22 September (2013-09-22) –
6 October 2013 (2013-10-06)

The Crane Gang is a British documentary television series that first broadcast on BBC Two on 22 September 2013. The final episode aired on 6 October 2013.

Episode list

# Title Directed by Original air date UK viewers
(millions)[1]
1"Episode 1"Rob McCabe22 September 2013 (2013-09-22)1.24
2"Episode 2"Rob McCabe29 September 2013 (2013-09-29)0.925 (overnight)
3"Episode 3"Rob McCabe6 October 2013 (2013-10-06)0.992 (overnight)

Reception

Ratings

The first episode attracted 1.24 million viewers on BBC Two. It was watched by 4.5% of television viewers during its broadcast.[2] Overnight figures show that the second episode was watched by 925,000 people, with an audience share of 3.7%.[3] The final episode received 992,000 viewers and a 4.0% share of the audience.[4]

Critical reception

Time Out gave the series two stars out of five and noticed a move towards documenting working lives recently (Ice Road Truckers, The London Markets and The Call Centre have been broadcast recently).[5] Jane Rackman of Radio Times called it "terrific viewing for fans of shows like Monster Moves – and there are as many characters as on Ice Road Truckers - while the sight of a German construction fair bristling with gigantic cranes is simply astounding."[6] The Daily Telegraph named it in an article about terrible television shows and said: "The hi-viz crane jockeys of Manchester’s Ainscough Crane Hire are no doubt very good at their jobs, and if you ever want a wind turbine or a Barbara Hepworth moving from A to B, they’d definitely be the people to call. But are their day-to-day lives truly deserving of their own TV showcase? Only if you’re Alan Partridge."[7]

References

  1. ^ "BARB Top 30s".
  2. ^ Eames, Tom (23 September 2013). "'Downton Abbey' returns with over 9 million, down from last series". Digital Spy. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  3. ^ Eames, Tom (30 September 2013). "'Downton Abbey' rises in ratings for second episode on ITV". Digital Spy. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  4. ^ Eames, Tom (7 October 2013). "'Strictly' beats 'X Factor' on Sunday, 'Downton Abbey' drops". Digital Spy. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  5. ^ Harrison, Phil (13 September 2013). "The Crane Gang". Time Out. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  6. ^ Rackman, Jane. "Series 1 Episode 1". Radio Times. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  7. ^ Jones, Ross (18 October 2013). "10 terrible TV shows". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 October 2013.

External links

  • The Crane Gang at BBC Online Edit this at Wikidata
  • Radio Times, The Crane Gang