'The Bill' was watched by 4.5m viewers and took a 20.2% share of audience, according to unofficial overnight figures. Reports suggest that ITV is set to review how many more episodes of the long-running show it will produce in the wake of declining viewing figures.
In the same slot, BBC One's 'Holby City' pulled in 5.3m viewers and a 23.8% share of audience.
BBC One's desert island-themed reality series 'Castaway' failed to reverse a ratings flop, despite a heavy marketing campaign. Last night it drew in 2.3m viewers and an 11.5% share of audience in its 7pm slot.
Channel 4's double dose of foreign property hunt show 'A Place in the Sun' put in a solid performance in its 8pm slot. The first Austrian-themed show was watched by 1.9m viewers and an 8.6% share of audience, while the second instalment from Tuscany drew in 2.1m viewers and an 8.9% share of audience.
A strong line-up of US imports on Five in the 9pm-to-midnight slot gave the channel a consistent share of audience around the 10% mark.
The channel's biggest ratings hit, 'House', starring British actor Hugh Laurie as an unconventional doctor, pulled in 2.2m viewers and an 8.6% share.
This was followed by 'Shark', featuring Hollywood actor James Woods, who helped the legal drama land 1.5m viewers and an 8.4% share.
Five's other popular US import, 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation', rounded off the evening with just under 1m viewers and a 9.6% share.
ITV2's 'Deadline', featuring celebrities as gossip magazine journalists, bowed out at the end of a six-week run with 267,000 viewers and a 1.8% share of audience.
Former athlete Iwan Thomas was chosen as the winner by editor Janet Street-Porter, while former Blue Peter presenter Yvette Fielding took the runner-up spot.
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