TV Overnights: 7.6m watch Grand National

It was a big weekend of sporting action, kicking off with the Grand National on Saturday. The race, on BBC One at 4.15, had impressive viewing figures, peaking at around 7.6 million (a 57.2% viewing share) during its climax.

On Sunday from 3.30pm, a peak of 5.9 million viewers (31.5%) watched ITV1’s coverage of the FA Cup Semi Final between Tottenham Hotspur and Portsmouth, with the south-coast side winning 0-2 after extra time.

BBC One’s entertainment double-whammy of Dr Who and Over the Rainbow performed well for the channel on Saturday night, although Dorothy’s friends could not stop Harry Potter pulling in a big audience on ITV1.

On from 6.15, the second instalment of the new series of Dr Who, featuring Matt Smith as the last of the Timelords, had a peak audience of 6.7 million viewers (a 33.1% share), with an average of 6.4 million (32.3%) sticking with it for its 45 minute duration.

At 7pm, the latest BBC Lloyd Webber vehicle, Over the Rainbow, picked up a peak of 5.8 million viewers (26.3%), with an average of 5.4 million viewers (25.4%)  staying with it until its finish at 8.10pm.

A peak of 6.3 million viewers (27.5%) watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on ITV1 from 7pm to 9.30pm. An average of 5.7 million viewers (25.7%) watched the full two and a half hours.

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.