Tuesday night saw the return of BBC One’s grim and challenging missing child drama The Missing (9pm), as James Nesbitt’s bereaved father continued the search for his misplaced five-year-old son across two separate time lines.

Last night saw ITV kick off a fresh week of telly by allowing Grantchester’s ‘hip’ crime-solving vicar Sidney a chance to let his hair down and put aside his killer-hunting instincts for just one night.

Thursday night saw Channel 4 launch a shiny new series of 24 Hours in A&E (9pm), one of the many similarly-formatted and cost-effective documentaries that the broadcaster has fallen in love with in recent years.

The tenth series of BBC One’s long-running and lucrative competitive-cretin show The Apprentice (9pm) secured the 9pm slot last night, although last night’s backstabbing antics yielded the lowest audience yet.

Tuesday evening saw James Nesbitt’s anguished face return to TV screens with the début of BBC One’s challenging new drama The Missing (9pm), cementing a solid evening for the broadcaster.

Monday evening brought a deluge of soapy froth and gritty thrillers to the nation’s TV screens, with the prime time festivities kicking off with a (relatively) quiet trip to the peaceful Yorkshire village of Emmerdale at 7pm.

Strictly Come Dancing (6:30pm) proved yet again that Saturday audiences crave light and frothy action over convoluted reality drama.

Thursday night brought the return of a broadcasting legend to BBC One with renowned naturalist David Attenborough’s new prime time series, Life Story (9pm).

The UK’s online universe took another fall in September, according to data recently released by online measurement company Nielsen.

After Monday night’s deluge of prime time crime and murder, Tuesday night saw the 9pm audience won over by a spot of BBC One-provided old fashioned goodwill.