TV Overnights: BBC One’s new Traffic Cops secures top ratings with 4.2m viewers

BBC One’s new Traffic Cops series secured the all-important peak-hour top spot last night with a high of more than 4.2 million viewers.

The hour-long programme just pipped ITV1’s Homes from Hell with 3.5 million average viewers and a 16.4% share, while ITV1’s reality show settled on 3.2 million average viewers and a 14.8% share.

The football-free line-up also saw Channel 4’s final Sex Education Show: Am I Normal? attract 2.3 million average viewers and a 10.9% share and BBC Two’s new two-part drama Dive pull in 1.4 million viewers and a 6.7% share.

Meanwhile, Five’s 9 o’clock film Conspiracy Theory starring Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts picked up more than one million peak viewers and a 5.3% share between 9pm and 11.40pm.

Earlier on in the evening, the soaps dominated the pre-watershed slots.  BBC One’s hour-long Eastenders, which saw the dramatic Lucas storyline reach breaking point, pulled in over 7.7 million peak viewers and a 35.1% share between 7.30pm and 8.30pm.

Over on ITV1, the second episode of Emmerdale was overshadowed by the special-length Eastenders, however, the first episode, on at the earlier time of 7pm, banked 5.6 million viewers and a 30.8% audience share.

The second trip to the dales settled on a lower 4.1 million average viewers and a 18.8% share between 8pm and 8.30pm, before Coronation Street secured a high of 7.3 million peak viewers and a 32.8% share between 8.30pm and 9pm.

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.