Little 'Ado' for BBC One's Shakespeare

BBC One's season of Shakespeare dramatisations got off to an uninspiring start in the ratings on Monday, according to early overnights.

Much Ado About Nothing had just 4.6 million viewers - a 18.6% audience share - between 8.30pm and 10pm, ranking eleventh place for the day. The first half of ITV1's new Trial and Retribution managed almost double the audience, meanwhile, with an average of 8.39 million (35.3%) between 9pm and 10.30pm.

An intensely close battle between the soaps saw the 7.30pm edition of Coronation Street come out on top by the smallest of margins, with an average of 12.22 million (53.3%) versus EastEnders' 12.21 million (50.5%). The second instalment of Corrie had 11.74 million (46.2%) for third, with Emmerdale following in fourth on 9.86 million (45.4%).

BBC Two had a strong showing in the 8pm hour, drawing respective audiences of 2.13 million (8.8%) and 2.3 million (9%) for Dubai Dreams and University Challenge. Channel 4's Dispatches (0.78 million, 3.1%) and Five's Fifth Gear (0.89 million, 3.6%) failed to come close.

Channel 4 regained the lead at 9pm, averaging 2.11 million (8.6%) for a new Wife Swap USA. Five had 1.4 million (5.7%) for the special The Girl Whose Muscles Are Turning to Bone: Extraordinary People while BBC Two dipped with Never Mind the Buzzcocks (1.71 million, 7%) and Broken News (1.39 million, 5.7%).

A repeat of Have I Got News for You helped the channel to 2 million (9%) at 10pm, putting it ahead of C4's Without a Trace (1.35 million, 6.9%) and Five's Sitcoms That Changed the World (0.88 million, 4.6%).

Later in peak, ITV1's Numb3rs put in a respectable 1.49 million (16.1%) in the 11pm hour but was pipped by Film 2005 with Jonathan Ross, which had 1.63 million (16.1%) for BBC One between 11.05pm and 11.35pm.

The finale of Hell's Kitchen USA was a huge hit in multichannel homes, keeping an average of 564,000 (3.5%) tuned to ITV2 between 9pm and 10.45pm.

The finale of BBC Three's Funland was also popular, pulling in respective audiences of 461,000 (3.8%) and 489,000 (5.9%) at 10.30pm and 11pm.

Derek Acorah's Ghost Towns got off to a medicore start on Living TV, drawing 264,000 (1.5%) in the 9pm hour but finishing above Discovery's American Chopper (196,000, 1.1%), Hallmark's Law & Order: SVU (196,000, 1.1%) and E4's Hollyoaks: Let Loose (187,000, 1.1%).