Andrew Lloyd Webber's Superstar saw no ratings boost as the live shows began last night (July 16).
Afnan Iftikhar's exit from the opera talent search, hosted by Amanda Holden, was seen by 2.83m (12.7%) between 9pm and 10.30pm - adding 103k (0.6%) on ITV1 +1.
Monday's audience for Superstar was also worryingly 300k lower than Sunday's (July 15) pre-recorded boot camp edition.
Christopher Eccleston's BBC drama Blackout edged Superstar with just 3m (13%), while Undercover Boss interested 1.96m (8.5%) on Channel 4 (+1: 320k/1.7%), and 1.39m (6%) watched Operation Crossbow on BBC Two.
Airing against EastEnders in the 8pm slot, Britain's Secret Treasures opened with 3.87m (16.8%) on ITV1 (+1: 133k/0.6%), University Challenge returned to BBC Two with 2.02m (8.7%), and Dispatches rallied to 1.2m (5.6%) for Channel 4 (+1: 178k/0.6%).
Jamie's Summer Food Rave Up followed Dispatches with 1.09m (4.6%) at 8.30pm (+1: 201k/0.9%), while Panorama took 3.13m (13.3%) for BBC One, and Hairy Bikers fetched 1.44m (6.1%) for BBC Two.
Meanwhile on Channel 5, Police Interceptors slipped to 907k (3.9%) in the 8pm hour, then 1.29m (5.6%) caught the latest Big Brother highlights show, and The Walking Dead attracted 831k (4.4%).
Amazingly, an old edition of the recently cancelled detective drama Lewis beat Big Brother, drawing 1.38m (6.6%) to ITV3 between 9pm and 11pm.
Overall, ITV1 topped primetime with 21.4% (+1: 0.6%), seeing off BBC One's 17.9%. BBC Two and Channel 4 tied in third place with 5.7% (C4+1: 0.9%), ahead of ITV3's 4.5% and Channel 5's 3.9% (+1: 0.2%).
A BBC Four documentary about the history of toilets, The Toilet: An Unspoken History, sucked in 1m (4.3%) in the 9pm slot.
