Hell's Kitchen sinks to 2.5m as 'The Apprentice' hogs audience

by Daniel Farey-Jones, Brand Republic 16-Apr-09, 12:10

LONDON - ITV1's second helping of 'Hell's Kitchen' suffered an exodus of viewers to BBC One's 'The Apprentice', which pulled in an audience of 7m, according to unofficial overnight figures.

The Marco Pierre White celebrity cooking competition had a strong start on Monday night.

The first look at the contestants, who include 'Young Ones' actor Adrian Edmondson and Gary Linker's model girlfriend Danielle Bux, took the 9pm-10pm slot's biggest audience with 5m viewers and a 20.8% share.

However, last night it came off second best to BBC One's juggernaut business reality show with a gap of 4.5m viewers. The difference in share was 28% versus 10%.

Four episodes in, 'The Apprentice' registered its second-lowest audience so far in the series. It began with 8.1m and hit a low of 6.4m up against an England World Cup football qualifier at the beginning of April.

'Hell's Kitchen' continues every day at 9pm-10pm from tonight over the next couple of weeks.

The third most-watched show in the 9pm slot last night was Channel 4's 'Grand Designs'. It managed 2.6m viewers and an 11% share, though this total includes the contribution of Channel 4+1 viewing.

BBC Two garnered 1.8m viewers and a 7% share for 'Alan Whicker's Journey of a Lifetime', while Five got 1.6m viewers and a 6% share for 'Extraordinary People: Britain's Tiniest Toddlers'.