Over 5m See Dutch Hammer Italians

Italian football fans might not have enjoyed watching, but over 5 million adult viewers tuned in to see the Euro 2008 match between Holland and Italy last night.

The 3-0 win recorded by the Dutch was seen by an average of 5.2 million, with viewing peaking at 6.7 million for the last fifteen minutes of the match. The defeat, which was a record equalling tournament defeat for the current world champions, attained an average viewing share of 27.3% for the 150 minute duration on ITV1.

BBC1’s coverage of the earlier group match between France and Romania, pulled in 2.7 million viewers (with a 23.8% viewing share).

Last night’s Big Brother, which saw the fake wedding ceremony between Mario and Steph, was watched by 3 million adult viewers.

The return of Mary, Queens of Shops to BBC2’s schedule, attracted respectable viewing figures. The first edition of the second series, which saw retail expert Mary Portas try to sort out a boutique in Ascot, was seen by 2.8 million viewers.

Over on Channel 4, during the same 9pm to 10pm slot, the Rupert Everett fronted documentary The Victorian Sex Explorer interested 1.5 million 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, ITV2 and Sky One.

ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itv.com BBC: 020 8743 8000 www.bbc.co.uk