TV Overnights: BBC One’s new Silk starts on a high of 5.4m

BBC One’s new six-part legal drama Silk debuted with more than 5.4 million viewers during last night’s 9pm to 10pm peak-slot.

The new series, starring Maxine Peake, Rupert Penry-Jones and Neil Stuke easily banked the peak ratings with 5.3 million average viewers and a 21.4% share ahead of ITV1’s Taggart, Channel 4’s new Heston’s Mission Impossible and 5’s CSI.

The final episode of Taggart attracted 2.7 million viewers and a 11.1% share to claim second place in the peak-hour ratings war, while Channel 4’s new four-part series Heston’s Mission Impossible pulled in 2.1 million average viewers and a 8.5% share.

Channel 5’s ever-popular CSI: Crime Scene Investigation came next in line with 1.8 million viewers and a 7.3% share, followed by BBC Two’s Natural World ‘One Million Snake Bites’, which achieved an average audience of 1.7 million viewers and a 7% share.

Earlier on in the evening, BBC One also dominated the pre-watershed ratings. Eastenders claimed the highest overall audience of the night with more than 9.6 million peak viewers, while hospital drama Holby City ruled the 8pm to 9pm slot with 6.1 million peak viewers.

On ITV1, Emmerdale achieved the channel’s highest ratings, peaking with more than 7.5 million viewers at 7pm.

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.