EastEnders topped the soap ratings on Tuesday evening (February 21) but fell slightly below the 8m mark, overnight figures show.
EastEnders pulled in 7.98m (35.2%) at 7.30pm as Derek embarked on his twisted revenge scheme against Roxy. BBC Three's repeat screening secured 560k (2.7%) at 10pm.
Also on BBC One, Holby City entertained 4.49m (18.7%) at 8pm as Sahira's husband joined Darwin.
Emmerdale, meanwhile, attracted 7.53m (34.9%) at 7pm as Gaynor Faye made her debut as ruthless Megan Macey. A further 192k (0.8%) tuned in an hour later on ITV1+1.
Hollyoaks grabbed 1.21m (5.9%) at 6.30pm on Channel 4 as Mercedes shared a kiss with newcomer Ally, while 588k (2.7%) tuned in for E4's first look at 7pm to see what the troubled McQueen would get up to next.
Over on Channel 5, Neighbours managed 733k (9.9%) at 1.45pm and 1.03m (6.2%) at 5.30pm, while Home and Away mustered 852k (4.5%) at 6pm and 464k (2.3%) for 5*'s first look at 6.30pm.
Elsewhere, the latest episode of Doctors - titled 'And Nothing But The Truth' - was seen by 1.51m (20.6%) at 1.45pm on BBC One.
TV Guide
