Bauer's title now boasts an average weekly circulation of 539,991, equating to a 2% rise over the first six months of 2008, although still slightly down (1.6%) year on year.
Bauer stablemate Heat retains third place, despite circulation being down 11.7% year on year to 470,475.
Elsewhere, Northern & Shell's New has jumped ahead of IPC's Now, with circulations of 442,996 and 433,509 respectively. However, both have followed the trend and lost circulation in the last year, with New down 4.7% and Now down 7.8%.
OK! Magazine led the falls, with a 25.6% drop year on year to an average weekly circulation of 508,504.
It mirrors similar double-digit falls recently experienced by OK!'s counterpart in the US, but Neil Allen, group press director of Starcom MediaVest Group, warns against drawing too many conclusions.
"The nature of OK!, with content often based on big events such as celebrity weddings, means it is far more susceptible than most to period fluctuations," he said.
In contrast, Hello!'s 7.1% rise year on year to 423,649 bucked the general trend, but was achieved by giveaways of bulk copies that mask an 8% fall year on year for actively purchased copies.
Meanwhile, NatMags' Reveal (270,014) has jumped ahead of Northern & Shell's Star (268,292), despite a hefty 17.2% drop year on year.
Despite the general declines, Allen believes the circulations through the sector remain healthy and attractive for advertisers. He added: "I do not think people have lost the lust for celebrity magazines. It remains a highly competitive area and when people have less money in their pocket, it is reasonable to assume they'll pull back on dual purchases which is prevalent in the sector."
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