THE lure of Sir Trevor McDonald's interview with Princess Diana's former lover failed to win the ratings battle for ITV1's News At Ten, as it made its comeback after six years.
Audience figures published yesterday showed it lagged its BBC rival by a more than a million viewers on Monday night.
Sir Trevor, 68, fronted the ITV bulletin for the first time since 2005, along with 37-year-old Julie Etchingham. He had an in
terview with Dr Hasnat Khan, the former lover of Diana, Princess of Wales, but observers termed it disappointingly dull.
Meanwhile, the BBC had a dramatic exclusive of its own, with its world affairs editor, John Simpson, reporting undercover from Zimbabwe.
Overnight figures showed News at Ten had an audience of 3.8 million, while the BBC's 10 O'Clock News was watched by 4.9 million.
However, ITV insisted it was happy with the figures. "We are very pleased. It shows there is a substantial viewer appetite for news in this slot," a spokesman said.
Craig Oliver, editor of the BBC bulletin, said he was "delighted" with the ratings, adding: "Competition is a good thing; it keeps you on your toes."
News at Ten was dropped in 1999 after 32 years, with the bulletin being moved to 11pm to make room for films. It returned for three years from 2001, then switched to 10:30pm.
The full article contains 236 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
