'MasterChef' finishes on series high

The finale of MasterChef: The Professionals performed well for BBC Two last night, overnight viewing figures show.

The last instalment of the series, in which Steve Groves was crowned as the winner, averaged 3.87m (16.2%) between 8pm and 9.30pm, coming top during its timeslot and setting a new high for the series.

MasterChef's previous high came on Wednesday night, when the 8.15pm show drew 3.53m (14.9%). The series has managed an average of around 2.89m (12.6%) viewers over its six-week run.

Later on BBC Two, Never Mind The Buzzcocks took 2.51m (10.8%) in its half-hour slot at 9.30pm.

Over on BBC One, 3.57m (15%) tuned in for Watchdog at 8pm, then the 9pm New Tricks interested 4.13m (17.4%).

ITV1's The Bill managed 3.89m (16.4%) during the 9pm hour and Five's coverage of Fulham's game against AS Roma averaged 1.13m (4.9%) between 7.30pm and 10.20pm.

Location, Location, Location put in 1.69m (7.1%) for Channel 4 at 8pm, then The Bigamist Bride: My Five Husbands grabbed 1.65m (7.3%) across the 9pm-10.30pm period.

Overall, BBC One came top during primetime with an average share of 24.2% to ITV1's 20.6%. BBC Two was third with 9.8%, followed by Channel 4 with 6.1% (+1: 0.8%) and Five's 4.3%.

Peter Andre: The Next Chapter was the most-watched programme on the multichannel stations, drawing 1.04m (4.7%) for ITV2 at 9pm. Fearne And... Paris Hilton followed at 10pm, bringing in 569k (3.2%).

BARB ratings data supplied by Attentional