ITV1 draws 2.9m with Marco Pierre White

by Daniel Farey-Jones, Brand Republic 17-Jul-08, 11:00

LONDON - ITV1's primetime expedition into the celebrity chef world with 'Marco's Great British Feast' clocked up 2.9m viewers this week, but trailed BBC One by more than 2m, according to unofficial overnight figures.

The third of four episodes showing Marco Pierre White tracking down British ingredients gave ITV1 a 13.8% share of viewing.

The audience for the 9pm-10pm show has slipped from last week, when it drew 3.2m and a 14.4% share.

On both outings it was up against BBC One crime documentary 'Cars, Cops and Criminals', which this week attracted 5.1m viewers earning a 24.4% share.

This is up from last week, when it managed 4.9m and a 23.3% share.

The slot's next most viewed show was BBC Two's 'Tribal Wives', the penultimate instalment in a reality documentary series where Western women go to live in tribal communities. It drew 2.2m viewers and earned a 10.7% share, up from 2m and 9.5% last week.

Channel 4's reality offering 'Personal Services Required' drew 1.7m viewers, including Channel 4+1 ratings, for the second week running, with a share of 8.1%. It was the third of four in the series, which shows families looking for domestic help.

At 10pm 'Big Brother' pulled in 3.1m viewers and achieved a 18.5% share, including Channel 4+1 ratings.

Five ran a run-down of 'The Greatest Ever Disaster Movies' at 8.45pm-11.30pm, earning 834,000 viewers and a 5.1% share.