TV Overnights: BBC One secures prime-time ratings run

BBC One managed to hold the peak audience share from 7pm onwards last night with Eastenders, Holby City and the last in the series of Five Daughters.

The conclusion of the three-part drama about the Ipswich serial killer finished on a high of more than 5.2 million viewers and a 21.8% average audience share during the all-important 9pm to 10pm slot.

Earlier on in the evening, the channel’s flagship soap Eastenders attracted an impressive 8.1 million peak viewers and a 39.5% share, while Holby City dominated the pre-watershed ratings with 5.8 million peak viewers and a 25.7% share.

ITV1’s line-up failed to compete.  The channel’s long-running police drama The Bill pulled in 2.6 million average viewers and a 11% audience share during the 9pm and 10pm peak-hour, while a celebrity special Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? picked up 3.2 million average viewers and a 14.7% share between 8pm and 9pm.

Elsewhere, BBC Two’s new six-part documentary series The Story of Science just managed to pip Channel Five’s ever-popular CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in the peak-hour ratings war.  BBC Two banked 2.1 million average viewers compared to Five’s 2 million.

At the same time, Channel 4’s Heston’s Feast settled on a fairly low 1.9 million viewers and a 8.4% 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.