BBC One's 'Motorway Cops' grabs 4.5m

The BBC's Motorway Cops was watched by 4.5m viewers on Thursday evening, according to overnight audience data.

Titled Catch Me If You Can, a new episode of the reality documentary series averaged 4.5m (20.5%) for BBC One from 9pm.

The programme comfortably dominated the 9pm hour, after Real Crime With Mark Austin pulled in just 2.37m (10.8%) on ITV1. Earlier on ITV1, Tonight: Community Dis-service scooped 2.84m (14.3%) between 7.30pm and 8pm.

The One Show pulled in 3.39m (18.6%) on BBC One between 7pm and 7.30pm, before Waterloo Road grabbed 3.83m (17%) in the 8pm hour and 102k (0.5%) on BBC HD.

On Channel 4, Ultimate Big Brother brought in 2.38m (14.2%) from 10pm, down 790k week-on-week. A further 176k (2.1%) watched the programme on Channel 4 +1.

Location, Location, Location attracted 2.13m (9.4%) to Channel 4 in the 8pm hour and 453k (2.1%) on timeshift. It was followed by The Hunt For Britain's Sex Traffickers, which brought in 1.62m (7.4%) and 181k (1%) on Channel 4 +1.

Natural World secured 1.52m (8%) for BBC Two in the 7pm hour, before E Numbers: An Edible Adventure pulled in 1.84m (8.2%). Digging For Britain grabbed 2.21m (10.1%) for the channel from 9pm, and it was followed by Have I Got Old News For You, which took 1.71m (8.5%).

Over at Five, Escape From Alcatraz brought in 510k (2.6%) between 7.30pm and 8pm, before Egypt's Lost Queen took 933k (4.1%) in the 8pm hour. A screening of The Shepherd averaged 1.16m (5.7%) for the channel from 9pm.

BBC One won primetime with a share of 21.6% over ITV1's 18.4% (HD: 0.5%). Channel 4 came in third with 8.5% (+1: 1.1%), followed by BBC Two with 8.3% and Five with 4.3%.

Elsewhere, BBC Three's live coverage of the Edinburgh Comedy Fest appealed to 872k (4%) between 9pm and 10pm.

That was the second biggest multi-channel audience of the night behind a repeat of EastEnders, which grabbed 969k (4.8%) on BBC Three from 10pm.

BARB ratings data supplied by Attentional