Ratings Hit For I'm A Celeb

BBC1 period drama Cranford debuted with eight million viewers last night, beating reality show I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! in the ratings battle.

Dame Judi Dench stars in the lavish adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's 19th century novels.

The landmark drama drew an average audience of eight million while ITV1's I'm A Celebrity had 7.2 million viewers in the same 9pm-10pm slot.

Cranford is one of the highlights of the new BBC1 season.

It is based on three Gaskell works woven together - Cranford, Mr Harrison's Confessions and My Lady Ludlow - and set in rural Cheshire during the Industrial Revolution.

The BBC described the five-part series as "a beautifully big and ambitious period drama".

The cast also includes Dame Eileen Atkins, Imelda Staunton and Francesca Annis.