Monday: our big night in

An evening with Bruce Forsyth and Cilla Black was once part of family tradition.

But Saturday night TV is losing its appeal, in favour of Mondays.

The once enormous Saturday audience has fallen to an average 18.1million, making it the smallest of any night of the week, according to figures published yesterday.

Instead of Forsyth's Generation Game and Cilla's Blind Date, families are more likely to get together to enjoy Monday's triple soap bill of Emmerdale and Coronation Street on ITV1 and EastEnders on BBC1.

Critics blame wall-to-wall talent shows and high-profile flops such as Chris Evans's Channel 4 game show Boys and Girls for bringing an end to the traditional Saturday night around the set.

John Beyer, of the quality TV campaign group Mediawatch, said: 'This is further evidence that broadcasters are out of touch with what people want on a Saturday night. Viewing has become such a damp squib that you can't blame people for preferring to go out instead.'

Saturday audiences have been falling from a 1992 peak of 21.1million. ITV1 recently scored its lowest-ever Saturday ratings thanks to a prime-time line-up of Brian Conley's Judgment Day, game show The Vault and Drop The Celebrity.

Saturday is even eclipsed by Thursday, traditionally the weakest night of the week for audiences.

Monday, meanwhile. is drawing an average 19.8million viewers to terrestrial television, 800,000 more than a year ago.

Its popularity is boosted by glamorous young soap stars such as Michelle Ryan, who plays Zoe Slater in EastEnders, and bra-less gardener Charlie Dimmock in Ground Force America.

Popular Monday shows in the last year have included the Bafta-winning drama Spooks, Martin Bashir's documentary Living with Michael Jackson, a series of James Bond films and police drama Mersey Beat.

Repeats of much-loved classics, including The Darling Buds of May, have also boosted ratings.

Some 69 per cent of 1,000 viewers questioned by researchers Human Capital thought Saturday night TV had got worse over the last ten years. Only 35 per cent said they sat down as a family to watch it.

Asked what would improve their Saturday viewing, two thirds wanted more blockbuster films, better dramas and more comedy. Only 11 per cent wanted more wannabe shows such as Pop Idol and Fame Academy.