'Queen's Sister' a royal hit for Channel 4

A drama about the life of Princess Margaret fared well for Channel 4 on Sunday but was no match for I'm A Celebrity.

The Queen's Sister averaged a respectable 2.58 million (11.6%) between 9pm and 11.05pm, peaking with 2.9 million (17.5%) in the final quarter hour.

Meanwhile, the elimination of Tommy Cannon from ITV1's jungle-based reality show brought in an impressive 9.27 million (38%) between 9pm and 10.30pm, earning a second place ranking for the day behind Coronation Street (11.46 million, 45.4%) but ahead of Emmerdale (8.06 million, 34.2%).

Heartbeat dominated the 8pm hour with 8.93 million (34.5%), despite increased competition from BBC Two's Top Gear (4.51 million, 17.4%). BBC One's Rocket Man dropped to 3.95 million (15.2%), as did C4's Not Forgotten (1.55 million, 6%).

In the 9pm hour, Egypt fell to 4.51 million (17.9%) for BBC One while BBC Two kept a steady 1.67 million (6.6%) with In Search of Speed. Five's martial arts-themed evening lacked lustre, peaking with 1.42 million (9.7%) for Bruce Lee flick Enter The Dragon at 10pm.

Sky One and ITV2 ran a close night in multichannel homes, but the former finished ahead overall, largely thanks to the strong performance of The Simpsons in the 6pm hour, with two episodes averaging respective audiences of 922,000 (6.3%) and 1.08 million (6.9%). Football Icon put in 359,000 (2.1%) in the 7pm hour while Dream Team improved to 454,000 (2.5%) an hour later. Hex was once again the weak link in the schedule with 238,000 (1.3%) at 9pm then at 10, a new Nip/Tuck served up 292,000 (2%).

ITV2 began with a mediocre 403,000 (2.4%) for an X Factor replay at 7pm before doubling to 877,000 (4.8%) for the results an hour later. The Xtra Factor replayed to 467,000 (2.5%) at 8.30pm before the audience dipped to 175,000 (1%) for Real Crime. Later, spinoff show I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here - NOW! dropped to a series low of 292,000 (3.7%).