Stella's 'Apprentice' hiring seen by 8.3m

The Apprentice final was the most-watched programme in primetime last night, as Stella English's hiring brought in 8.3m.

Lord Sugar's preference of English over Chris Bates was witnessed by 8.29m (32.2%) between 9pm and 11pm, as the main programme was combined with Dara O'Briain's You're Hired on BBC One.

Sports Personality of the Year also scored a hefty audience for the channel, with 7.06m (25.2%) tuning in between 7pm and 9pm, while a winter special of Countryfile interested 6.31m (24.9%).

Over on ITV1, a repeat screening of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix appealed to a respectable 5.82m (21.2%) from 6.30pm until 9pm, then documentary David Suchet on the Orient Express intrigued 4.6m (15.7%).

Edwardian Farm delivered 2.32m (8.5%) to BBC Two, after which 1.98m (6.9%) watched The Hairy Bikers at 8pm, before The Many Faces of Richard Wilson and corresponding documentary I Don't Believe It managed 1.71m (5.9%) and 1.5m (6.2%).

Jonathan Ross's first hosting job since leaving the BBC in 100 Greatest Toys brought in 2.43m (9%) to Channel 4 between 6pm and 9pm, alongside a further 247k watching on timeshift. Subsequently, The Secret Millionaire and Desperate Housewives followed with 1.68m (5.7%) and 750k (3.2%).

Meanwhile, a festive screening of A Christmas Carol notched up 1.98m (7.1%) for Channel 5, after which 1.43m (5.6%) watched the not-so-festive movie Blood Work at 9pm.

Overall, BBC One won primetime with 28.4% to ITV1's 18.2%, Channel 4 was third with 7.4% (+1: 0.9%), followed by BBC Two and Channel 5 with 6.8% and 6.2% respectively.

BARB ratings data supplied by Attentional