Channel 4's 'Sperm' appeals to 1.4m

The Great Sperm Race attracted 1.36m (5.9%) for Channel 4 last night, according to early viewing figures.

The programme, which aired at 9pm, saw humans play the role of sperm in order to demonstrate the journey that sperm must overcome to beat 250 million competitors and impregnate an egg.

It was beaten by Law & Order: UK, which averaged 6.11m (26.2%) for ITV1, and BBC One's Cleopatra: Portrait Of A Killer, which logged 3.39m (14.1%).

The latest episode of Heroes drew 1.65m (7%) for BBC Two, while Five's Extreme Fishing With Robson Green managed 1.56m (6.7%).

Earlier, at 8pm, 960k tuned in for Channel 4's Dispatches: Confessions Of A Nurse, which looked at shocking stories of inadequate NHS care, while The Gadget Show took 1.33m (5.4%) for Five.

BBC One's Panorama - an in-depth look at the Government's response to low interest rates - averaged 3.55m (14.4%) between 8.30pm and 9pm, and 3.7m (15.1%) watched Kevin Whately on Dementia: Tonight on ITV1.

Over on BBC Two, 2.98m (12.1%) tuned in for the third episode of Railway Walks at 8pm. Viewing figures then dropped to 2.1m (8.5%) for the channel during the screening of James Wong's Grow Your Own Drugs.

Overall, ITV1 led primetime with an average share of 26.9% to BBC One's 20.4%. BBC Two was third with 8%, followed by Channel 4 with 4.7% (+1: 0.7%) and Five with 4.7%.

Elsewhere, a repeat of the Gavin & Stacey Christmas Special performed well for BBC Three, pulling in 673k (3.2%) at 9pm. It beat the new episode of 24 on Sky1, which grabbed 542k (2.5%).

Also at 9pm, BBC Four documentary Fish: A Japanese Obsession was seen by 455k (2.3%).

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Ratings data supplied by Attentional