Birds of a Feather made an impressive comeback on ITV on Thursday (January 2), according to overnight data.
The classic sitcom's return attracted 7.54 million viewers (30.7%) at 8.30pm, with an added 277,000 (1.1%) watching on +1.
Later, Benidorm also returned for a new series with 5.99m (24.2%) at 9pm (653k/3.5% on +1). This is slightly down from the series five launch in 2012, which was seen by 6.24m. However, it equals the 5.9m audience that tuned in for the finale episode.
On BBC One, Celebrity Mastermind puzzled 4.82m (21.9%) at 7pm, while documentary Dolphins: Spy in the Pod interested 4.90m (20.4%) at 8pm.
Silent Witness returned for a new series with 6.10m (24.6%) at 9pm. This is slightly higher than the previous series opener of 6.9m in January 2013.
BBC Two's University Challenge quizzed 2.84m (12.4%) at 7.30pm. Jeremy Clarkson's PQ17: An Arctic Convoy Disaster was seen by 2.26m (9.1%) at 9pm, followed by Rab C Nesbitt with 1.91m (9.6%) at 10pm.
On Channel 4, Restoration Man brought in 1.48m (6.1%) at 8pm (172k/0.7%). My Big Fat Gypsy Holiday entertained 1.24m (5.0%) at 9pm (495k/2.6%), followed by Secrets of the Scammers with 1.28m (6.7%) at 10pm (309k/2.7%).
Channel 5's Too Fat To Fly intrigued 1.03m (4.3%) at 8pm, while 50 Shocking Facts About Diet & Exercise gathered 926k (4.2%) at 9pm (103k/0.7%).
