TV ratings: Luther debut brings Idris Elba nine times Wire's UK audience

The Wire's Idris Elba may have experienced a new sensation with the debut of his BBC1 cop drama Luther last night, Tuesday 4 May – starring in a TV show that a significant number of viewers watched live. Luther opened with 5.646 million viewers and a 23.8% audience share on BBC1, comfortably winning the 9pm hour. Another 111,000 (0.47%) watched the BBC HD simulcast. This gave BBC1 a 35% uplift compared with the average audience share for the slot over the past three months, the best performance of any show yesterday by this comparison. The Wire, first broadcast in the UK on cable and satellite channel FX before a belated late night terrestrial outing on BBC2 last year, grew in popularity via word of mouth, the web, DVD boxsets and on-demand viewing. FX attracted a live audience of 38,000 viewers for the first episode of the fifth and final series of The Wire in July 2008. The show's BBC2 debut in March last year had 600,000 viewers (8%) in an 11.20pm slot . Last night the 9pm competition included ITV1's The Bill (2.64 million/11.1%, ITV1 HD 56,000/0.3%), BBC2 The Story of Science – Power, Proof and Passion (1.66 million/7%), and Channel Five's CSI (1.828 milllion/7.7%). On Channel 4 in the slot, Heston's 70s Feast had 2.423 million (10.2%), with another 263,000 (1.5%) an hour later on Channel 4 +1. Five main terrestrial analogue networks BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, Channel 4, Channel Five (available in all UK homes with TV, except Five, which reaches about 95%) BBC1 7.30pm: EastEnders - 8.908 million/40.4% 8pm: Holby City - 6.055 million/26.3% BBC2 8pm: Theo's Adventure Capitalists (new series) - 834,000/3.6% 10pm: Later Live... with Jules Holland - 792,000/4%, BBC HD 27,000/0.13% ITV1 7pm: Emmerdale - 6.334 million/31.2%, ITV1 HD 94,000/0.5% 8pm: Who Want to Be a Millionaire? Celebrity - 3.175 million/13.8%, ITV1 HD 35,000/0.1% Channel 4 8pm: Supersize v Superskinny - 2.237 million/9.7%, C4+1 234,000/1% 10pm: Shameless - 2.060 million/11.8%, C4+1 158,000/1.8% 11.05pm: Bremner, Bird and Fortune: the Daily Wind-Up - 363,000/4.3%, C4+1 34,000/0.9% Five 8pm: Cowboy Builders - 1.452 million/6.3% Freeview/digital terrestrial TV free-to-air networks Available in 23.4m UK homes – 91.4% of total – as of 31/12/09. Source: Ofcom digital progress report, Q4 2009 ITV2 9pm: The Vampire Diaries - 513,000/2.2% E4 9pm: 90210 - 260,000/1.1% 11pm: Shameless - 860,000/9.7% More 4 9pm: Bremner, Bird and Fortune: the Daily Wind-Up - 167,000/0.7% 10pm: True Stories: Erasing David - 192,000/1.3% BBC3 9pm: Blood, Sweat and Luxuries - 484,000/2% 10pm: EastEnders (rpt) - 1.020 million/5.1% 10.30pm: La La Land - 278,000/1.8% BBC4 8.30pm: The Boats That Built Britain (new series) - 516,000/2.2% 9pm: Sea Fever (new series) - 435,000/1.8% Virgin1 9pm: Duncan Bannatyne's Seaside Rescue - 229,000/1% Cable and satellite pay-TV networks Available in 12.4m UK homes – 48.2% of total – as of 31/12/09. Source: Ofcom digital progress report, Q4 2009 Living 9pm: Cougar Town - 251,000/1.1% 9.30pm: Cougar Town - 245,000/1% Sky1 8pm: Stargate Universe - 387,000/1.7% 10pm: Fringe - 232,000/1.3% FX 11pm: The Border - 28,000/0.3% All ratings are unofficial live overnight figures, excluding other viewing – including timeshifted (recorded), on demand, HD, +1 or other – unless otherwise stated • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email [email protected] or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. • If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".