The show is seen as a key part of a glamour overhaul of the BBC's mid-week schedule, which also includes the glitzy romp-fest 'Hotel Babylon' on Thursday nights.
However, with just 3.5m viewers, the first show of 'Davina', which featured guests including the singers Charlotte Church and KT Tunstall, is well short of the 5m that BBC executives were reportedly hoping for.
With just a 15% audience share, it was not only beaten by 'The Bill', which regularly attracts around 7m viewers, but also Channel 4's 'Relocation, Relocation', which attracted 3.7m viewers.
This will be particular galling for the BBC because Channel 4 is the broadcaster that the audience most associates with McCall, through her hosting of 'Big Brother' and 'Celebrity Big Brother'.
The pressure will be on for next week's show to see if BBC Two's Winter Olympics coverage will beat Davina's ratings, after coming close on Wednesday with its 2.9m viewers.
Despite the low figures for 'Davina', a spokeswoman for the BBC, which is reportedly paying McCall 拢1m for the show, said: "We are quite happy with the figures, which show it has got off to a solid start.
"With any new chat show you need to build up the audience and that can take time to grow."
However, the BBC was less kind with McCall's previous show, 'He's Having a Baby', which was axed after bombing on BBC One.
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