Slow start for ITV's 'Love Island'

The new series of Love Island failed to generate ratings waves on Monday night, despite a huge marketing and scheduling push behind the show's return.

According to early figures, the 90-minute opener averaged 3.16 million viewers - a 15.1% audience share - for ITV1 from 9pm, down more than two million on the first episode from the first series last May. C4's Big Brother comfortably triumphed in the 9pm hour, averaging 4.58m (21.1%), while BBC One's celebrity showjumping series Only Fools On Horses put in 4.1m (18.9%) over the same period.

Earlier, an hour-long Coronation Street had 8.65m (44.8%) for ITV1 from 7pm, leading in to Ant & Dec's new big money gameshow PokerFace, which began with a decent - if unspectacular - 4.78m (22.8%) in the 8pm hour.

BBC One began strongly at 7pm with 4.4m (23.4%) for the first episode of Big Cat Week, then peaking at 8pm with 8.23m (40.4%) for EastEnders. DIY SOS put in 5.69m (26.5%) at 8.30pm, while after the news, 3.24m (21.6%) tuned in for the Only Fools On Horses results show.

BBC Two enjoyed a decent night, leading off with 1.87m (9.2%) for a repeat of Rick Stein's French Odyssey before rising to 2.17m (10.1%) for University Challenge. Comedy lineup Still Game (2.31m, 10.7%), The Catherine Tate Show (2.03m, 9.3%) and Saxondale (1.58m, 8.1%) delivered the laughs from 9.

Five failed to get a look in all night, starting with 633,000 (3%) for Fifth Gear at 8pm and peaking with just 918,000 (4.2%) for the final part of The Baby Mind Reader at 9.

ITV3 had another strong night in multichannel homes, drawing a hefty 839,000 average for its A Touch Of Frost repeat between 9pm and 11pm. BBC Four's Volcano Night produced solid audiences throughout the evening, peaking with 421,000 in the 9pm hour for the documentary Ten Things You Didn't Know About Volcanos.