News of the World scandal lifts 'Newsnight' ratings

[dutchman]

Newsnight has pulled in its best audience of 2011 so far for its coverage of the News of the World's phone hacking scandal.



On Wednesday night, the Jeremy Paxman-fronted current affairs review picked up 1.32m (9.5%) between 10.30pm and 11.20pm on BBC Two.

Paxman's bulletins on Monday and Tuesday showed the first signs of increased interest in the programme.

Newsnight, which featured Labour's John Prescott for the latest analysis and debate on the scandal, has been losing audience share in the last three years.

While ITV and Channel 4 only saw a little ratings boost, BBC One's Question Time was last night watched by 3.6m, a million more than the week before.

Ordinary BBC News bulletins have also soared in popularity, staying close to 5m viewers for the whole week.