'EastEnders' ratings return to form

The exhumation of Dirty Den brought EastEnders its best ratings in four months last night.

The episode, shown at 7.30pm, averaged 10.15 million viewers and a 53.4% share of the audience, ranking a clear first place for the day. Emmerdale finished second with 7.9 million (45.1%), followed by Holby City on 7.49 million (35.6%).

Broadcast in a later 9pm slot, The Bill suffered at the hands of BBC One's Messiah, which had 6.38 million (27.6%) over 4.41 million (19.1%).

Elsewhere, Channel 4's new Sixties holiday reality show Wakey Wakey Campers got off to a good start, interesting 2.91 million (12.6%) from 9pm.

BBC Three's 10pm EastEnders repeat pulled in 748,000 (5.5%) to rank first amongst the multichannels, while on ITV2, movie repeat Speed 2: Cruise Control had an impressive 513,000 (3.9%).