'Law & Order: UK' begins run with 6.4m

ITV1's new crime drama Law & Order: UK made a reasonable start last night, overnight ratings figures suggest.

The series - an adaptation of the long-running US show starring Bradley Walsh - drew a strong 6.37m (26.3%) in the 9pm slot. The audience was down on the impressive 7.55m (30%) for Whitechapel in the same slot last Monday, however.

Law & Order's closest rival was BBC One's Who Do You Think You Are? with 5.65m (23.3%) in the hour.

Over on Five at 9pm, sci-fi action thriller The 6th Day averaged 878k (4.7%), while Channel 4 had 930k (3.9%) for The Real Casino Boy, a documentary focusing on the crimes of millionaire John Aspinall.

Also at 9pm, Sky1's screening of cult show 24 - now in its seventh season - took an increased 494k (2.3%), drawing closer to a Gavin & Stacey repeat on BBC Three with 513k (2.3%) over 30 minutes.

Channel 4's Dispatches: The Problem Princes took a miserable 1.11m (4.4%) for the hour, while Fifth Gear averaged 795k (3.1%) for Five.

ITV1 dominated primetime with an average share of 26.6% to BBC One's 23.3%.

Source: DigitalSpy