The Missing, BBC1’s new crime thriller starring James Nesbitt and Frances O’Connor as parents whose five-year-old son disappears on a holiday in France, began with nearly 6 million viewers.
The first of an eight-part series, The Missing was watched by 5.8 million viewers, a 27% share, between 9pm and 10pm on Tuesday.
It was up against the second half of a repeat of Midsomer Murders on ITV1 that started an hour earlier, managing just 2.2 million viewers, a 9.2% share, between 8pm and 10pm.
Flash, saviour of Sky1? No, not that Flash
The first episode of The Flash, based on the DC Comics character and the latest big-screen superhero to switch to the small screen, earned Sky1 629,000 viewers (2.9%) at 8pm.
It was up against the first of a new four-part series of BBC2’s Autumnwatch, the channel’s most watched programme of the night with 2.7 million viewers (12.4%).
Elsewhere at 8pm, BBC1’s Holby City treated 4.6 million (21.2%) while Channel 4’s Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners polished up 1.9 million viewers for a 7.7% share.
Toff audience
Other new series included the first episode of BBC3’s Life is Toff, which returned to the foul-mouthed aristos of the Fulford family on their country estate, watched by 518,000 viewers on BBC3 at 10pm, for a 3.1% share.
On a similar theme, the second episode of Channel 4’s You Can’t Get the Staff, in which Lady Auriol Linlithgow seeks a new servant for her house in Wales, managed only 1.3 million (5.3%) between 9pm and 10pm.
All ratings are Barb overnight figures, including live, +1 (except for BBC channels) and same day timeshifted (recorded) viewing, but excluding on demand, or other – unless otherwise stated. Figures for BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 generally include ratings for their HD simulcast services, unless otherwise stated
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