'Dad's Army' still pulling the punters

An evening of Dad's Army programming was a ratings hit for BBC Two on Saturday.

The themed night - shown to mark the 40th anniversary of the military sitcom - included classic episodes and related documentaries.

Don't Panic! The Dad's Army Story, narrated by comedienne Victoria Wood, was the top performer with an impressive 3.05m (15.5%) between 8.35pm and 9.30pm. Two classic episodes, shown at 8pm and 9.30pm, drew respective audiences of 2.61m (14.4%) and 2.83m (14.5%). Reputations: Arthur Lowe, a documentary about the late actor and his portrayal of Captain Mainwaring, had 2.25m (12.4%) from 10.10pm.

BBC One dominated primetime viewing, however, led by its weekly visit to Casualty. The medical drama averaged 5.36m (27.4%) from 8.25pm - by far the day's top-rated programme on any channel. The latest edition of music reality show Last Choir Standing drew a respectable 3.93m (25.1%) from 6.30pm, then at 7.35pm The National Lottery: This Time Tomorrow interested 4.68m (26.9%). Later, a repeat of Renée Zellweger movie Bridget Jones's Diary was seen by 3.79m (20%).

ITV1's top audience was 3.26m (18.1%) for a repeat of Foyle's War, shown over two hours from 9.20pm. Its earlier primetime lineup failed to garner much attention, beginning with 2.62m (18%) for adventure movie The Scorpion King from 5.45pm. Clip show Athletes Do The Funniest Things, fronted by Stephen Mulhern, had 3.14m (18.4%) at 7.20pm then an hour later, karaoke gameshow Who Dares Sings! mustered 2.98m (15.3%).

Channel 4 put in a dismal performance during primetime, languishing significantly below the 1 million mark for the most part. We Are Together, a documentary about the plight of South African orphans, averaged just 573,000 (3.1%) between 7.30pm and 9.20pm. Julia Roberts romcom America's Sweethearts had 626,000 (4.7%) over two hours from 10.20pm. The only highlight of C4's lineup was the latest Big Brother update, with 2.1m (10.8%) at 9.20pm.

Five's lineup of US shows fared slightly better, starting with 1.11m (5.7%) for NCIS at 8.20pm then rising to 1.32m (6.8%) for CSI an hour later. Law & Order: Criminal Intent had 882,000 (5.4%) from 10.20pm.

Among the multichannels, ITV2's showing of Die Hard 2 proved popular with an all-conquering average of 612,000 (6.1%) between 10.25pm and 12.50am. Dave had a surprise hit with its marathon of Jack Dee Live At The Apollo episodes, peaking with 400,000 (3.9%) for the 11pm instalment.