Return Of Wire In The Blood Boosts ITV1

The return of the Robson Green crime drama series, Wire In The Blood, was a big winner for ITV1 last night, with the show easily trouncing the other networks’ offerings from 9pm with an average adult audience of over 5.6 million.

The captivating narrative, which revolved around the abduction and murder of an 11-year-old girl from a crime-ridden housing estate, gave the channel a 26.8% viewing share between 9pm and 10.30pm.

Meanwhile, over on BBC One, a fascinating one-off special of genealogy series, Who Do You Think You Are?, saw radio and TV presenter Nicky Campbell trace his adoptive family in Scotland and Australia.

Just over four million adults on average joined the Hearts supporter as he unravelled various intriguing family tales, giving BBC One an 18.8% viewing share in the 9pm to 10pm timeslot.

Over on Channel 4, the omnipresent voice of Big Brother revealed to the housemates that their Australian guest “Pauline” was in fact an actress. An average of just over 3.1 million adults watched the latest instalment of the reality game show, giving the station an audience share of around 14.7%.

Earlier, ITV1 gained the most adult viewers in the 8pm to 9pm slot with the second part of a two-part run of The Bill. The high adrenaline cop capers attracted just over 5.3 million adult viewers on average, netting ITV1 a share of 28.4%.

Over on C4, Kirstie and Phil pulled off a double triumph in Location, Location, Location, as more than 3.8 million adults on average (20.5%) saw them successfully purchase suitable abodes for two desperate couples in Hastings.

Elsewhere, the first part of documentary series, The Alastair Campbell Diaries, lured more than 1.3 million (7.2%) to BBC Two.

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 Channel 4: 020 7396 4444 www.channel4.com