The return of Midsomer Murders to ITV1 trumped a BBC One drama about the life of Jane Austen in the ratings last night.

A decent 7.4m (29.7%) audience tuned in from 8pm for the two-hour mystery, set at the time of the French Revolution.

Miss Austen Regrets, starring Olivia Williams, could manage only 3.9m (15.4%) from 8pm. The feature-length biopic was 1m off the channel's slot average.

Movie In Her Shoes, premiering on Channel 4 from 9pm, attracted a respectable 2.3m (12.3%) while The Sixth Day on Five at the same time drew 1.1m (6.1%).

On BBC Two at 9pm, history documentary The Hunt for U864 was watched by 1.9m (7.4%).