'Hell's Kitchen' loses half its audience

The latest visit to Hell's Kitchen pulled in a lowly 2.47m (10%) for ITV1, according to overnight viewing figures.

Last night's 9pm episode - presented by Claudia Winkleman - drew 2.56m fewer viewers than Monday's series four opener.

The show lost viewers to The Apprentice, which attracted a respectable 7.02m (28.4%) during the hour for BBC One.

Kevin McCloud's Grand Designs put in 2.26m (9.2%) for Channel 4, while the final episode of Alan Whicker's Journey Of A Lifetime managed 1.78m (7.2%) for BBC Two.

Five was last for the hour with Extraordinary People: Britain's Tiniest Toddlers, which drew 1.59m (6.4%).

Earlier, at 8pm, the latest trip to The Bill took 4.64m (20.5%) for ITV1, ahead of BBC One's Waterloo Road, which was seen by 4.1m (18.1%).

Over on BBC Two, the latest episode of Jo Brand's The Speaker grabbed 1.16m (5.1%), while 1.01m (4.5%) tuned in for Oil Riggers on Five.

The new series of Embarrassing Bodies returned to 2.66m (11.7%) for Channel 4.

Overall, BBC One came top during primetime with an average share of 21.2% to ITV1's 19.4%. Channel 4 was third with 8.5% (+1: 1.2%), followed by BBC Two with 7.5% and Five's 4.8%.

Elsewhere, ITV2's Gossip Girl managed 134k (0.6%) during the 9pm hour, and Charlie Brooker's Newswipe pulled in 245k (1.7%) for BBC Four between 10.30pm and 11pm.

Also on BBC Four, 441k (2%) tuned in for documentary series Mud, Sweat and Tractors: The Story Of Agriculture at 9pm.

Ratings data supplied by Attentional