Clarkson’s Millionaire debut pulls in viewers

Jeremy Clarkson’s debut as the host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire was watched by more than five million game show fans.

The relaunched programme drew in an average of 5.1 million viewers on Saturday night and enjoyed an audience share of 30 per cent for its timeslot. The programme was broadcast from 9:15pm until 10:20pm on ITV.

However, despite the success of Millionaire – it was more than one million up on viewers compared to the timeslot’s year-to-date average – it was still beaten in the ratings by ITV’S Britain’s Got Talent.

Former Top Gear star Clarkson is in the hot-seat for a special seven-episode run of programmes to mark Millionaire’s 20th anniversary, taking over from original host Chris Tarrant. His debut was largely hailed a success by viewers.