The new incarnation of 'Robin Hood', starring Jonas Armstrong, Keith Allen and Richard Armitage, took a 37% share, against Ant and Dec's 31%.
'Robin Hood' was followed on BBC One at 7.50pm by the return of 'Strictly Come Dancing' for a fourth series, which pulled in 8.8m and secured a 38% share of viewing.
The evening's second helping of 'X-Factor' gave ITV1 a boost after 'Saturday Night Takeaway' finished at 8.30pm by attracting 8.4m and a 36% share of viewing. The earlier 'X-Factor' at 6.10pm averaged 6.3m and a 30.7% share. It started towards the end of BBC One's coverage of the England football team's 0-0 draw with Macedonia, which attracted 7.1m and a 41.7% share.
Peter Fincham, BBC One controller, said he was "thrilled" with the ratings.
Last night, Five transmitted a live birth, as part of its 'Birth Night' broadcast from 8pm until 10pm. The themed night pulled in 1.7m viewers at 8pm, or 6.7% of the total audience.
This was matched by Channel 4 list show 'The 100 Greatest Funny Moments', which ran from 8pm to 12am. It also brought in 1.7m viewers on average, but because of its longer running time, marked up a 10.3% share of total viewing.
BBC One clocked up 4.3m for 'Incredible Animal Journeys', or a 17.3% share of audience, while on ITV1, drama 'The Royal' notched up 7m viewers, or a 28.4% share.
'Dragon's Den' at 8pm on BBC Two snared a 2.7m viewing figure, taking an average share of 11% of the viewing audience.
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .
_1.jpg)
.jpg)
