Rowan Atkinson’s debut as French detective Maigret was watched by nearly 6 million viewers on ITV.
Critics were left yearning for a bit more action in the first of two adaptations starring the Georges Simenon creation memorably portrayed by Michael Gambon 25 years ago.
Maigret drew 5.7 million viewers, a 28.1% share of the audience, from 9pm on Monday.
It was up against Marvel Avengers Assemble on BBC1, the Hollywood movie turning in a slightly less than superhero performance with 3.1 million viewers, a 14.2% share, from 8.30pm.
Guy grills Bear. Kind of
Channel 4’s The Island with Bear Grylls returned for a third series with its biggest audience to date, 2.7 million viewers, an 11.8% share from 9pm, up from its previous high of 2.2 million two years ago.
But the survival expert scout chief was just edged out by Guy Martin’s Wall of Death: Live, in which the daredevil speedster attempted to ride his motorbike around a vertical wall faster and further than anyone has done before. Even Bear Grylls.
The Guy Martin show pulled in 2.8 million viewers, a 2.7% share, from 7.15pm.
End of the road
Channel 4’s student comedy Fresh Meat bowed out with 600,000 viewers, a 3.4% share, from 10pm.
Over on BBC2, Eddie Izzard: Marathon Man for Sport Relief, telling the story of the comic’s 27 marathons in 27 days, was watched by 1.3 million viewers, a 6.3% share.
