The return of criminal psychologist Fitz, played by Robbie Coltrane, won a 38% audience share and 8.1 million viewers when the first new Cracker in a decade aired last night, according to unofficial overnights.

Ratings for the show managed to beat the second part of the BBC's costume drama Jane Eyre, which pulled in 5.5 million viewers and a 23% share in the 9pm hour.

Viewers for the Charlotte Bronte classic dropped 400,000 and two share points on last week, when it trailed behind ratings for ITV1's Midsomer Murders.

Elsewhere, BBC2's Beyond Boundaries - the African Challenge at 9pm got 1.2 million viewers and a 5% share, Five's repeat of the Vin Diesel film XXX won 1.6 million viewers and an 8% share, and Channel 4 faired similarly with 1.4 million viewers and a 9% share for its 100 Greatest Cartoons, shown between 8pm and 12.05am.

Earlier in the evening, The Royal on ITV1 went head-to-head again with a Sunday night edition Casualty, with ITV coming out on top this time with 6.3 million viewers and a 27% share, and the BBC slightly behind with 6.2 million and 26% share.

Presented by Richard Hammond, currently recovering from his Top Gear accident, Battle of the Geeks on BBC2 scored 1.9 million viewers and an 8% share when shown at 8pm.