Latest 'Big Brother' draws 1.8 million

Last night's instalment of Big Brother drew 1.84m (11.1%) for Channel 4 in the 10pm hour, early ratings figures suggest.

The audience is down around a million viewers on the audience for the equivalent episode from last year, but in an encouraging sign, the ratings are roughly static week-on-week. A further 138k (1.7%) watched last night's episode from 11pm on Channel 4+1.

Earlier, this week's medieval-themed episode of The Supersizers drew a solid 2m (9.3%) for BBC Two in the 9pm hour, outrating the 840k (3.9%) for C4 documentary The World's Greatest Musical Prodigies and Five's Build A New Life In The Country, seen by 1.29m (6%).

ITV1 won the hour with 4.11m (19.2%) for a Real Crime documentary about Rachel Nickell, a woman who was violently stabbed in front of her two-year-old son 17 years ago. BBC took 3.47m (16.2%) with Waking The Dead.

Highlights of the first day play at Wimbledon brought in 1.75m (8.2%) to BBC Two in the 8pm hour, while Five's Fith Gear notched up 880k (4.2%). Channel 4 had 780k (3.7%) for Dispatches: Rape in The City.

Tonight's exploration of the possibility of a public inquiry into the 7/7 bombings appealed to 2.29m (11.2%) on ITV1 between 8pm and 8.30pm, and on BBC One, a Panorama report on the Taliban's rule in the Swat Valley of Pakistan averaged 2.07m (9.7%) from 8.30pm.

ITV1 had the lead in primetime with an average audience share of 23.4%, a full four points ahead of BBC One. BBC Two was third with 9%, followed by Channel 4 with 5.3% (+1: 0.4%) and Five with 4.4%.

The final episode of Sky1's Ross Kemp In Search Of Pirates snagged 596k (3.1%) in the 9pm hour, while on ITV2, a screening of the 2005 remake of King Kong averaged 421k (3.3%) betweem 9pm and 12.40am.

BARB ratings data supplied by Attentional