'Dead' tops Carlyle's 'Class' comeback

Robert Carlyle made a strong comeback to ITV last night but was outperformed by BBC One's continuing Waking The Dead.

The first half of murder mystery Class of '76 pulled in an average of 6.23 million viewers (a 27.6% audience share) between 9pm and 10.30pm. The drama improved figures for the slot by around 1 million on last week but still finished behind its rival, which improved to 6.63 million (28%).

Meanwhile, Channel 4's Wife Swap dropped to a series low of 2.59 million (10.9%) as Five's Hidden Lives found 1.27 million (5.4%). BBC Two's special debate How Euro Are You? went largely ignored, averaging just 1.18 million (5.2%) between 9pm and 10.30pm.

Two episodes of Coronation Street topped the rankings with respective audiences of 11.79 million (52.4%) and 10.67 million (43.8%). EastEnders had 10.42 million (44.1%) for third, keeping Emmerdale in fourth with 9.74 million (47.2%).