Move to 9pm pays off for Question Time

Following the MPs’ expenses scandal, BBC One’s decision to move Question Time to an earlier 9pm timeslot paid off as the show easily beat the competition.

A peak of 3.9 million people watched the show – a share of 18% – with an average of 3.7 million (a 17.1% share) sticking with it for its hour running time.

However, this was slightly down on last week’s show, on at 10.40pm, which had a peak of 4 million (a 29.5% share).

Its nearest rival last night was cop-classic Taggart, with a peak of 3.1 million viewers. An average of 2.9 million (a 13.3% share) stayed with the show throughout its hour duration.

There was another strong outing for an American import on Five, as spooky detective drama The Mentalist conjured up a peak of 2.4 million viewers (a 10.9% share).

Overnight data is available each morning in mediatel.co.uk’s TV Database, with all BARB registered subscribers able to view reports for terrestrial networks and key multi-channel stations.