ITV1’s popular Cops with Cameras series secured the highest ratings during the peak-hour last night with 3.1 million viewers.
The penultimate episode, which followed police in Aberdeen on the last Friday before Christmas, pulled in more than 3.1 million viewers and a 16% average audience share.
Meanwhile, BBC One’s two-part special of Waking the Dead, with guest stars Ron Cook, Anna Madeley and Branka Katic, attracted a high of 2.7 million viewers and a 13.3% average share during the 9pm to 10pm slot.
BBC Two’s second NASA – Triumph and Tragedy marginally beat Channel 4 to third place during the peak-hour with a high of 2 million viewers compared to Big Brother‘s 1.9 million peak viewers.
However, in terms of overall audience share, Channel 4 just managed to pip BBC Two as Big Brother banked a 9.4% average share over NASA’s 9.3%.
Channel Five’s 9 o’clock Spaghetti Western film series continued to be ratings winner, meanwhile, with The Good, The Bad and The Ugly pulling in 1.4 million peak viewers and a 8.2% average share.
Earlier on in the evening, ITV1 claimed the top spot with a peak run of Emmerdale, Coronation Street and The Bill. However, BBC One’s Celebrity Masterchef final managed to steal its thunder between 8.45pm and 9pm with a high of 4.5 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 and key multi-channel stations.