The one-off programme attracted a 17.7% share in the 9pm-10pm slot on Friday, according to unofficial overnight figures. Including Channel 4+1's time-shifted audience, the show was watched by 4.4m viewers and an 18.6% share.
Channel 4 created an official Facebook group -- -- to support the show, which at the time of writing has already attracted 1,224 members and almost 500 comments. Several unofficial groups have also been started.
Members of the official group have been sharing their experiences of cooking the meal through comments and photos and there have also been numerous calls to make the show in to a regular series on Channel 4.
Peter McGarel from London said on the official Facebook group: "Hats off to Gordon, such a great tasting menu with simple ingredients. I am very impressed. If C4 are thinking of doing another, they get my vote!!"
The success of the show dented ITV1's share in Friday's primetime slot. Its recently launched behind-the scenes comedy 'Moving Wallpaper' and its sister show 'Echo Beach' each suffered a drop on the previous week's audience figures.
'Moving Wallpaper' drew 3.5m viewers and a 14.4% share between 9pm-9.30pm, while 'Echo Beach' immediately followed with 2.8m viewers and an 11.6% share.
This compares unfavourably to last week's performance, when 'Moving Wallpaper' and 'Echo Beach' pulled in 3.8m and 3.5m viewers respectively.
ITV1's lacklustre performance in the Friday primetime slot failed to improve on Saturday, when its Nick Hancock-fronted quiz show 'Duel' debuted with just 3.2m viewers and a 13.6% share in the 8pm-9pm slot.
ITV1 normally averages 5.2m in the 8pm-9pm Saturday slot, but the channel has suffered a sharp dip in ratings since the conclusion of the 'X Factor' series in December.
Earlier in the evening, the second episode of sci-fi series 'Primeval' earned 5.7m viewers and a 24.7% share in the 7pm-8pm slot.
BBC One's long-running football highlights show 'Match of the Day' continues to enjoy something of a renaissance this season, with 4.3m viewers and a 25.2% share in the 10pm-11.30pm slot.
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