Silent Witness returned with almost 6 million viewers last night.
The 21st series of the BBC One drama kicked off its new eight-part run with an average audience of 5.9 million viewers.
The show – which continues tonight – was the most watched programme outside of the soaps.
It bettered ITV’s new series Next Of Kin which had 3.4 million in the 9PM slot.
Coronation Street was the most watched show of the day, with 7.5 million viewers and 7.2 million for its two episodes.
Emmerdale had 6.5 million watching while EastEnders ranked between the two ITV serials with 6.7 million tuning in.
Earlier in the day, The Chase started its week with viewing figures still above 4 million. 4.1 million watched Monday’s episode, following an all time high rating of 4.4 million last week.