Despite all the hoopla surrounding the main broadcasters prime time reality projects, it was the dour sepia-soaked melancholy of Downton Abbey on Sunday night (ITV, 9pm) that won over the weekend’s biggest audience .

EastEnders’ (BBC One, 7:30pm) habit of bringing back familiar faces seems to have done the trick last night as 90’s bad boy David Wicks reared his shiny head just in time for the dramatic closing drum beats.

8 million viewers watched as the prodigal son failed to materialise, securing a midweek downer for an audience share of 38%.

September looked to be a bad month for competing OTT VOD services Netflix and LOVEFiLM, with both properties dropping two places.

Last night BBC One hesitantly entered a brand new era with its long-running triumph New Tricks (9pm), as yet another familiar face disappeared from the successful line up.

It’s been a very successful few days for commercial broadcaster ITV, as its latest raft of reality contests and returning dramas had enough to overshadow similar BBC offerings.

As if there was any doubt, the past two days have seen the UK’s premium ‘talent’ show lord it up all over Saturday and Sunday’s TV schedule, as The X Factor’s success overshadowed all of the competition.

ITV’s The Guilty wrapped up after three weeks last night, giving starved viewers their much needed fix of infanticide.

Grinning boffin Brian Cox returned to the prime time schedules last night, armed with his unique brand of vocal harmonies and seemingly gormless enthusiasm.

After a rough few week EastEnders (BBC One, 7pm) gathered its strength back and pulled itself past its Yorkshire rival.