Spencer Matthews's 'The Bachelor' opens with 770,000

Published Jun 30 2012, 12:58 BST  |  By Paul Millar

Spencer Matthews's The Bachelor drew 770k (4.1%) at 9pm last night (Friday), overnight data indicates.

The Made in Chelsea star's debut on the Channel 5 show attracted 500k fewer viewers than Gavin Henson's series opener last year, although Henson's episode enjoyed a bigger lead-in of 3.2m from Celebrity Big Brother.

Classic Big Brother last night mustered 1.35m (6.4%) for its live eviction show in the 9pm slot, adding 130k (0.7%) on Channel 5 +1.

Big Brother's Bit on the Side entertained 528k (4.4%), while Ice Road Truckers returned with 911k (4.2%) in the 8pm hour.

Channel 4's Million Pound Drop Live managed a decent 1.57m (7.6%) between 9pm and 10.30pm, appealing to a further 133k (0.8%) on timeshift.

Coverage of Roger Federer's Wimbledon third round tennis match averaged 2.63m (13.7%), with the conclusion logging 4.99m (22.3%) on BBC One at 9pm.

Simon Sharma's Shakespeare (720k/3.4%) and Episodes (661k/3.4%) performed disappointingly on BBC Two, while 8.30pm's Would I Lie To You? (2.53m/11.2%) and Have I Got News For You (2.68m/12.9%) on BBC One were repeats. Later at 10.35pm, 3.39m (21.6%) stayed up for The Graham Norton Show.

Elsewhere, new documentary series The Circus interested 2.46m (11.6%) on ITV1 in the 9pm slot and 151k (0.8%) an hour later. Grimefighters had 2.2m (10.3%) at 8pm (+1: 145k/0.7%).

Overall, BBC One's 18.1% primetime share edged ITV1's 17.7% (+1: 0.7%). BBC Two claimed third place with 9.4%, ahead of Channel 4's 4.9% (+1: 0.7%), and Channel 5's 4.5% (+1: 0.3%).

BARB ratings data supplied by Attentional