Richard & Judy’s Best Kids’ Books struggled to attract viewers in its 8pm slot last night, according to overnight figures.

The one-off, part of Channel 4's literary season, drew 648,000 viewers (a 2.9 per cent audience share). The slot's year average is 2.3 million (10.9 per cent).

It compared with 4.9 million (22 per cent) for The Bill on ITV1 and BBC One's Waterloo Road at 4.6 million (20.7 per cent). Five’s live UEFA Cup coverage from 7.30-10pm made 1.6 million (7.4 per cent) and BBC Two's The Truth about Property took 2.4 million (11 per cent) during its hour from 8pm.

Later on, kidnapped journalist Alan Johnston dominated the schedule with BBC One Panorama special Kidnapped: The Alan Johnston Story. It took 3.1 million viewers (14.7 per cent) at 9pm which, despite being weak for the slot, trumped the competition.

The Whistleblowers on ITV1 took 2.9 million (13.8 per cent) while Channel 4's Last Chance Kids made 1.5 million (7.3 per cent). Comedy The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle, on BBC Two, reached 1.3 million (6.2 per cent).

Leading the digital channels was ITV4’s UEFA Cup coverage of Tottenham V Getafe. It attracted 1.2 million viewers (6.56 per cent of multichannel homes) from 8pm.