"Atlantis" captivates 5m on BBC One

Glossy new BBC drama Atlantis premiered with 5 million viewers on Sunday evening, while Vera remained popular on ITV1, the latest audience data has revealed.

Atlantis, a factually-based drama telling the story of a massive natural disaster that shook the ancient world, averaged 5.04m (20.6%) for BBC One in the 9pm hour, peaking at 5.56m (23.6%) for the first 15 minutes.

Vera, a new detective show starring Brenda Blethyn, continued with 5.33m (21.8%) on ITV1 between 8pm and 10pm, roughly flat week-on-week, while 324k (1.5%) tuned in on ITV1+1.

Countryfile grabbed 6.01m (28.2%) on BBC One in the 7pm hour, while The Cube entertained 4.1m (18.8%) on ITV1 from 6.30pm and 208k (0.9%) on time-shift.

Antiques Roadshow had 5.85m (24%) on BBC One in the 8pm hour, and new arts strand Perspectives mustered 1.09m (6.6%) on ITV1 from 10.15pm.

On BBC Two, Britain's Secret Seas sailed in with 1.81m (7.4%) in the 8pm hour, while 115k (0.5%) watched on the BBC HD channel. Documentary Lord Sugar Tackles Football attracted 1.75m (7.2%) in the 9pm hour, before Match of the Day 2 scored with 2.78m (15.4%) from 10pm.

Channel 4's Come Dine With Me served up 1.65m (7.7%) in the 7pm hour and 339k (1.4%) on +1. The Hotel continued with 1.82m (7.4%) from 8pm and 246k (1%) on +1. A screening of How To Lose Friends and Alienate People took 1.75m (8.3%) from 9pm and 271k (2%) on time-shift.

Showings of Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger and X2 roused 855k (4.8%) and 1.2m (5%) on Channel 5 between 6pm and 10pm. Zombie drama The Walking Dead scared up 1.08m (5.8%) between 10pm and 11.30pm.

Overall, BBC One won prime-time with 22.3% against ITV1's 18.3% (+1: 1.1%). BBC Two came in third with 8.5%, followed by Channel 4 with 7.9% (+1: 1%) and Channel 5 with 5.2%.