Penry-Jones thriller '39 Steps' pulls in 7.3m

A one-off spy thriller starring Rupert Penry-Jones was a ratings hit for BBC One last night (Sunday), early figures suggest.

The 39 Steps, a new adaptation of John Buchan's classic novel, averaged 7.28m (27.4%) over 90 minutes from 8pm.

It beat a new episode of The Royal on ITV1, which had just 4.25m (15.9%) in the 8pm hour. BBC Two's Top Gear Vietnam Special put in a strong 6.07m (22.7%) over the same period.

ITV1's one-off ghost drama Affinity was a ratings disaster at 9pm. The two-hour piece, set in the 1870s and starring Zoe Tapper, could only muster 2.7m (12.1%).

This contributed to ITV1's primetime share falling to a miserable 12.9%, down seven points on last week.

A new series of Celebrity Mastermind launched to 5.54m (26.6%) on BBC One at 6.30pm, then Antiques Roadshow picked up 7.41m (32.3%) in the 7pm hour. After The 39 Steps, a rerun of Have I Got News For You's Christmas special drew 4.51m (19%).

BBC One's share rose from 23.7% to 26.2% in primetime overall.

The Real Italian Job: James Martin's Mille Miglia, following the chef on the infamously gruelling Mille Miglia car race through Italy, pulled in a sizable 3.32m (13.9%) for BBC Two in the 9pm hour. The channel's share was up from 8.3% to 16%, in second place for the night and ahead of ITV1.

Channel 4's screening of Crocodile Dundee In Los Angeles picked up 1.95m (7.6%) from 7.15pm. At 9pm, annual panel show Big Fat Quiz of the Year was seen by 2.72m (12.2%). The channel's share rose from 6.7% to 9.9%.

Five took a hard hit, dropping from 6.5% to 3%. At 8pm, a new series of World's Strongest Man could only pick up 899k (3.4%), then a screening of Johnny Depp thriller Secret Window had 582k (2.5%).

Ratings data supplied by Attentional