TV Overnights: ITV1’s The Little House debuts with 6m

ITV1’s new 9 o’clock drama The Little House secured the peak-time ratings ahead of BBC One’s Spooks last night.

The first of two episodes, starring Lucy Griffiths and Francesca Annis, started on a high of more than six million viewers at 9pm but slipped down to a slightly lower average audience of 5.7 million viewers and a 22.4% share.

By comparison, BBC One’s Spooks settled on less than five million viewers and a 19.2% share during the 9pm to 10pm slot.

Elsewhere, BBC Two’s Masterchef: The Professionals, which saw the three finalists visit the Langham Hotel, attracted a decent 2.9 million average viewers and an 11.6% audience share between 8.30pm and 10pm.

In the 9pm to 10pm peak-hour, meanwhile, Channel 4’s new five part police show Coppers pulled in over 2.1 million peak viewers and a 8.4% share, and Extreme Fishing with Robson Green returned to Channel 5 with 1.3 million viewers and a 5.4% share.

Earlier on in the evening, the soaps stole the pre-watershed line-up. BBC One’s Eastenders banked a high of more than 9.8 million viewers, while ITV1’s Corrie pulled in an equal 9.8 million viewers and Emmerdale picked up 8.1 million peak viewers.

At 10 o’clock, Chris Moyles’ Quiz Night returned to Channel 4 with special guests Michael McIntyre, Louis Walsh and Jessie Wallace. The 50-minute programme secured over 1.5 million peak viewers and a 8.1% average share.

At the same time, BBC Two aired its new comedy The Trip, which stars Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon. The 30-minute improvised comedy about two actors on a culinary tour of the north of England attracted a debut audience of 2.1 million peak viewers.

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.