Friends spin-off Joey proved a hit for Five this weekend, with its debut drawing just over four million viewers.

The show sees Matt Le Blanc's character from the phenomenal US sitcom try to advance his acting career in Los Angeles.

Around 4.1m people tuned in to watch the show, according to unofficial figures quoted by the BBC, beating its competition on BBC Two and Channel 4. However, ITV1's The Royal came out on top with eight million viewers.

The debut did not enjoy such success in the US, drawing only 18.6m viewers, an audience less than any episode of the final season of Friends. Despite this unfavourable start, it became the top-rated comedy by its third episode.