The return of The X-Files on Monday drew almost 3.5 million viewers giving Channel 5 its highest-rating show in over a year.
The eagerly anticipated debut episode, the first new X-Files in 13 years, drew an average of 3.35 million viewers and a 15% share of total TV viewing between 9pm and 10pm.
The X-Files gave Channel 5 something of a slot victory trumping BBC1’s Crimewatch, BBC2’s Rick Stein’s Taste of Shanghai and Channel 4’s debut of Royal Navy School.
Only ITV’s Benidorm, with 4.6 million viewers, beat The X-Files.
It is the highest rating show on Channel 5 since last January’s launch of Celebrity Big Brother, which drew 3.42 million. It is the highest launch figures for a US drama series on the channel, which carries several American shows including the NCIS and CSI franchises, since 2009.
The X-Files miniseries is likely to be one of Channel 5’s biggest rating shows in years once the consolidated figures come in, with a large audience expected to have recorded it to watch over the coming week.
