TV Overnights: BBC One’s Diamond Queen wins 5.9m viewers

BBC One’s penultimate Diamond Queen banked the top peak-hour ratings last night with a high of almost six million viewers.

The second in the new documentary series about Queen Elizabeth II’s 60 year reign attracted more than 5.5 million average viewers and a 21.5% audience share during the full 9pm to 10pm slot.

However, ITV1’s popular Whitechapel peaked with 5.6 million viewers between 9pm and 9.15pm. Overall, the first in the two-part story secured 5.2 million average viewers on ITV1 between 9pm and 10pm, while ITV1 HD banked an extra 561,000 viewers during the peak-hour.

Elsewhere during the 9pm to 10pm peak-slot, BBC Two’s final Protecting Our Children achieved an average audience of 1.7 million viewers; Channel 4’s Coppers won 1.6 million average viewers; and Channel 5’s Royal Marines: Mission Afghanistan settled on just over a million viewers.

ITV1 dominated the pre-watershed ratings with Emmerdale and Coronation Street. Emmerdale peaked with 7.9 million viewers between 7pm and 7.30pm, while Corrie hit a high of more than 9.2 million viewers in the first 7.30pm to 8pm slot. (The second episode of Coronation Street pulled in 8.9 million peak viewers).

BBC One’s Eastenders, meanwhile, picked up 8.6 million peak viewers between 8pm and 8.30pm.

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.