Pretty good start for Channel 4's 'Betty'

US show Ugly Betty did well for Channel 4 on Friday, attracting 4.5 million viewers and a 19% audience share.

The show attracted the third highest audience for any US series launch on Channel 4 in the last 10 years, after the first seasons of Lost and Desperate Housewives.

Though sandwiched between the channel’s two Celebrity Big Brother shows, Betty didn’t do quite as well as ITV1’s celeb fest, Soapstar Superstar.

The ITV1 show pulled in 5 million viewers and a 20% audience share, with BBC One’s Just the Two of Us managing an average 4.3 million viewers and an 18% share.

Ratings for the last half hour of Just the Two of Us also beat Channel 4, with the BBC One audience growing to 4.5 million, against Betty's which dropped to 4.4 million viewers.

Celebrity Big Brother at 8.30pm managed an average 4 million viewers and a 16% share over the hour, with the second edition at 10.30pm pulling in 4.7 million viewers and a 25% share.

Surprisingly, BBC Two’s organic vegetable show, Grow Your Own, pulled in 3.8 million viewers between 8.30pm and 9pm, with Celebrity Big Brother only attracting 3.6 million viewers in that half hour.

BBC Two's Timewatch documentary, The Hunt for U864 managed 3.2 million viewers and a 13% share at 9pm, and Five’s new US drama NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) launched with 2 million and a 8% share.