BBC takes down ITV1's The Commander in Sunday ratings battle

by Darrren Davidson, Brand Republic 13-Aug-07, 11:10

LONDON - ITV drama 'The Commander' has lost its hold on Sunday evening viewing, as BBC One's 'Mountain' narrowly edged past the commercial broadcaster's police drama with an extra 100,000 viewers, according to unofficial overnight figures.

'Mountain' won the hotly contested 9pm-10pm slot with an average audience of 4.8m viewers and a 20.8% audience share.

The series, in which comedian Griff Rhys Jones undertakes a journey across the mountains and peaks of Great Britain, lost out to 'The Commander' in its first two episodes, but last night's third instalment edged past the ITV1 drama.

'The Commander', which last night finished its six-part run, was watched by 4.7m viewers and a 20.2% share.

Jim Carrey movie 'The Mask' pulled in 1.9m viewers and an 8.7% share, from 8pm-10.30pm on Five.

Channel 4 enjoyed a succession of bumper audiences on Friday night with two instalments of 'Big Brother' and the latest episode of its popular comedy series, 'Star Stories'.

The first part of 'Big Brother' eviction night from 8.30pm-9.30pm drew 3.7m viewers and an 18.5% of audience.

The second part between 10pm-10.30pm, featuring an interview with evicted housemate Amy, was watched by 3.6m viewers and an 18.5% share.

A spoof dramatisation of the rise of pop music impresario Simon Cowell in 'Star Stories' attracted 2.7m viewers and a 13.1% share, from 9pm-9.30pm.