Yes, it drives me crackers!
What I've started to do, when there's a programme I want to watch virtually uninterrupted, I either pause it as it starts or just set it to record. For the first 15 minutes of the show, I go and do something else - my dishes, quick phone call, whatever. When I sit down to watch the show I can forward through the adverts and by the time the show is finished in real time I've either caught up with it or or only a couple of minutes behind.
I know, it's a bit sad, but I really hate the ads when it's a show I really enjoy LOL