More than 2 million people watched the BBC1 documentary about the victims of Jimmy Savile and their struggle to be heard on Monday night.
Abused: The Untold Story recounted how allegations against Savile first emerged, how victims were initially ignored and the ongoing trauma inflicted on them. It also featured interviews with victims of sexual abuse by other perpetrators.
It has been described by the Guardian as “a powerful, sometimes excruciating programme”.
As well as focusing on the impact on victims, it also told the story of how a Newsnight investigation into Savile was shelved in 2011, while Christmas tributes to the then recently deceased celebrity went ahead.
Dame Janet Smith’s inquiry reported in February that “serious failings” at the BBC had let Savile and another presenter, Stuart Hall, sexually abuse nearly 100 people without detection for decades.
The documentary attracted a 10% share of the total audience during its 90-minute running time, despite strong competition from ITV.
The 8:30pm start time pitted it against Coronation Street, which attracted 6.7 million viewers, and was followed at 9pm by Marcella, the thriller from The Bridge writer Hans Rosenfeldt which brought in 5.7 million, down from 6 million for its opening episode last week.
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