BBC One's car criminals win battle of the docs with 5m

by Daniel Farey-Jones, Brand Republic 10-Jul-08, 11:15

LONDON - The BBC won the battle of the primetime documentaries last night as BBC One's 'Cars, Cops and Criminals' attracted 4.9m viewers and beat ITV1's Marco Pierre White cookery series, according to unofficial overnight figures.

The first in a three-part series, which looked at the sophisticated end of car crime with stolen-to-order top-end cars, gave BBC One a 23.3% share of the audience.

ITV1 managed a 14.4% share with 3.2m viewers tuning in to watch cookery god Marco Pierre White venture out into the British countryside to bag wood pigeon in the second installment of 'Marco's Great British Feast'. Last week's first episode was watched by 3.1m.

All the other channels offered hour-long documentaries, with BBC Two's continuing 'Tribal Wives' down from its 2.3m total last week. The trials of single British parent Yvonne trying to fit in with the semi-nomadic Himba tribe in Namibia were watched by 2m, giving the channel a 9.5% share.

Channel 4 drew 1.7m viewers, a share of 7.8%, for the second part of its four-part reality series 'Personal Services Required', in which families search for their ideal domestic helper. Including Channel 4+1 ratings the programme scored 1.7m viewers and an 8.2% share.

Five's focus on people going through childbirth without medical help or a midwife in 'Extraordinary People: Outlaw Births' was watched by 1.1m people giving the channel a 4.9% share.

At 10pm, the BBC's 'Ten O'Clock News' drew 4.9m viewers to ITV1's 'News at Ten''s 1.8m, while 'Big Brother' was watched by 3.1m on Channel 4.