BBC One Brings Home The Bacon

BBC One triumphed over ITV1 and Channel 4 last night, with New Tricks taking the majority of adult viewing share over the final of X Factor: Battle Of The Stars and Big Brother.

New Tricks is proving itself as a consistently high-rating drama – the first series, screened in 2004, was BBC One’s highest rating new drama of that year. Now in its third series (with a fourth in development), the programme follows a team of ageing cops and their antics as they reinvestigate unsolved crimes.

Lead by veteran actors Amanda Redman and Dennis Waterman, last night over seven million adults (over 31% of the adult viewing share) saw Waterman on screen with his real-life daughter, ex-Eastenders doormat, Hannah.

Meanwhile, ITV1’s X Factor: Battle Of The Stars final, which saw another ex-‘Stenders actress trotted out, picked up nearly six million adult viewers, or over 26% of the adult viewing share.

The final saw a tearful Lucy Benjamin, who once played Phil Mitchell’s downtrodden missus in the cockney soap, win the singing contest. Channel 4’s Big Brother managed almost four million adult viewers or 17% of the adult viewing share.

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, ITV2 and Sky One.

BBC: 020 8743 8000 www.bbc.co.uk

ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itv.com