The first of four new dramas featuring the former 'Inspector Morse' sidekick averaged 8m viewers between 9pm and 11pm, accounting for 35.6% of viewing. It opened with 8.95m, but finished with just 6.8m.
In the early evening, 'Dancing on Ice' delivered 8.15m viewers at 6.30pm-7.30pm, and virtually the same again for the 8.30pm-9pm results show in which former Page 3 model Linda Lusardi was voted off.
'Dancing on Ice' and 'Wild at Heart' outperformed BBC One's tribute to Bruce Forsyth on his 80th birthday, which got 6.47m and a 25.9% share at 6.30pm-8pm.
Running for an hour from 7.30pm, 'Wild at Heart' got 7.59m viewers and a 28.9% share.
BBC One's 8pm-9pm period drama 'Lark Rise to Candleford' got 6.26m and a 23.2% share, but was followed by the second instalment of debut thriller series 'The Last Enemy', which managed only a 9.6% share with 2.46m viewers.
On Saturday, the BBC was again bested by its commercial rival, which got the evening's biggest audience with 'Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway', despite being up against the live rugby clash as England battled and beat France.
'Ant and Dec' was watched by 6.96m to BBC One's 6.02m. However, ITV1's 9pm-10pm gameshow 'Duel' was bundled into touch by the rugby. While 'Duel' averaged 3.83m viewers the second half of the rugby was sustaining an audience of almost 7m as England finished victorious.
Friday night continues to be the black spot in ITV1's new line-up, with 'Moving Wallpaper'/'Echo Beach' getting fewer viewers than BBC Two's choirboy documentary, BBC One's 'New Tricks' and Five's naval investigative drama 'NCIS'.
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