Wimbledon final peaks with 12.7m

The Wimbledon men's singles final drew a peak audience of 12.7m for BBC One last night as the channel cleared its schedule for the five-set finish.

The match, in which Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer, was delayed several times because of rain, meaning that BBC One's total coverage lasted from 1.30pm to 9.30pm. The show's average audience was an impressive 7.4m (38.8%), with a peak share of 45% coming in the 15 minutes from 9pm.

A new George Gently drama was delayed until next week because of the match and some BBC One programmes were moved to BBC Two.

The closest ratings competition came from a new Midsomer Murders, which attracted 6.3m (23.7%) to ITV1 from 8pm to 10pm; and BBC Two's Top Gear, seen by 5.4m (19.9%) in the 8pm hour.

ITV1 won its share of sports ratings earlier in the day when 4.4m (36.2%) watched the British Grand Prix. The race, won by Louis Hamilton, lasted from midday to 3.20pm.

Channel 4's best audience yesterday was 3m (11.6%) for Big Brother highlights at 9pm, while Five drew 1m (4.7%) with movie Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle between 6pm and 8pm.