Taggart returns with over 4m viewers

ITV1’s new Taggart series secured the highest ratings during the all-important 9pm to 10pm peak-hour last night with more than 4.3 million viewers.

The long-running crime drama, with Alex Norton and Blythe Duff, kick-started with a high of 4.36 million viewers and a 19.3% average audience share.

Elsewhere, BBC One’s Crimewatch, which featured the hunt for the killers of a 20-year-old who was shot at point-blank range, pulled in more than 4.2 million peak viewers and a 17.8% audience share.

At the same time, The Mentalist on Five, starring Simon Baker, attracted 2.1 viewers and a 9.7% share, while BBC Two’s Professor Regan’s Nursery picked up 1.1 million and a 4.9% share.

However, Channel 4’s look at the economic recession – My Wall Street – failed to impress with just 795,000 viewers and a 3.5% average audience share.

Earlier on in the evening, BBC One’s Eastenders banked the top spot, pulling in the overall highest ratings with more than 8 million peak viewers and an impressive 39.5% average audience 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.