Over 3m enter 'Dragons' Den'

Dragons' Den made a strong return to the ratings last night with more than 3 million viewers.

The first episode in the fifth series - featuring a new dragon, venture capitalist James Caan - averaged 3.1m and a 12.6% share for BBC Two in the 9pm hour. The figures are roughly on par with the start of series four, which averaged 3.3m (12.8%) in an earlier, 8pm slot in February.

The Dragons came close to toppling BBC One's repeat of New Tricks, which had 3.5m (14.3%) at the same time. ITV1's Doc Martin dominated viewing in the hour, however, averaging a colossal 8.2m (33.7%). Channel 4's one-off drama-documentary The Relief of Belsen had 2m (9.5%) between 9pm and 11pm, while Five's Extraordinary People continued with 1.2m (5.1%).

Amongst the soaps, Coronation Street's wedding buildup pulled in the punters for ITV1, drawing averages of 10.4m (47%) and 10.5m (43.7%) for its 7.30pm and 8.30pm outings respectively. EastEnders put in an admirable 9.6m (40.8%) at 8pm and Emmerdale managed 8m (38.7%) at 7pm.

Overall in primetime ITV1 maintained a clear lead with a 30.2% share against BBC One's 21% average. BBC Two had 10.6% for third place, followed by Channel 4 on 8.3% and Five on 4.4%.