The Billion Dollar Chicken Shop launched with over 3 million viewers on Wednesday evening, overnight data reveals.
The BBC One KFC-based series attracted an average 3.35m (15.9%) at 9pm. Earlier, MasterChef topped the ratings with 4.50m (21.5%) at 7.30pm.
On BBC Two, Stargazing Live appealed to 1.92m (9.0%) at 8pm, followed by Eat To Live Forever with 1.40m (7.4%) at 9.30pm.
ITV's Big Star's Little Star entertained 3.32m (15.5%) at 8pm (248,000/1.2% on +1), while DCI Banks continued with 3.95m (19.0%) at 9pm (205k/1.4%).
On Channel 4, Three in a Bed brought in 875k (4.1%) at 8pm (160k/0.8%), followed by 24 Hours in A&E with 1.56m (7.4%) at 9pm (273k/1.8%) and First Dates with 954k (6.2%) at 10pm (153k/2.0%).
Channel 5's GPs: Behind Closed Doors gathered 1.16m (5.4%) at 8pm, while My Violent Child fascinated 877k (4.2%) at 9pm. A Neighbours reunion special attracted 789k (5.7%) at 10pm.
On ITVBe, TOWIE continued with 417k (2.6%) at 10pm, while Terry Wogan's Ireland topped the multichannels with 548k (2.7%) at 8pm on BBC Four.
