Billed as a "search for the real Henry", Starkey's challenge to reconcile the dashing young scholar-prince and the bloated tyrant he became drew 2.2m viewers and a 9.3% share of the 9-10pm audience. Including Channel 4+1 figures it reached 2.4m viewers.
Channel 4 said it was pleased with the ratings, which were up 500,000 on the first episode of its last Starkey series 'Monarchy', which launched with 1.7m viewers and averaged 1.5m over the series.
The final part of ITV1 police drama 'Law & Order: UK', which saw Freema Agyeman's character Alesha assaulted by an eminent Harley Street gynaecologist, won the prime time slot with 5.6m viewers and a 23.4% share of the audience. The seven-part series performed well for ITV over its run, which began with 6.4m viewers.
BBC One's documentary series 'Traffic Cops', this week focusing on "creeper crooks" who break into houses in the middle of the night to steal keys and cars, netted 4.3m viewers and an 18.3% share of the audience.
US drama 'Heroes', starring Hayden Panettiere and Masi Oka, scored 1.6m viewers and a 6.4% share of the 9-9.45pm audience for BBC Two.
Five's 'Extreme Fishing with Robson Green', which saw Green diving in a shark-proof cage to recover abalone, a form of mollusc, won 1.4m viewers and a 5.7% share of the 9-10pm audience.
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