Mr Selfridge opens doors to more than 7 million

In a strong night for ITV1, department store drama averages 7.27 million and Dancing on Ice returns with 8.06 million

New ITV drama Mr Selfridge opened its doors with more than 7 million viewers in the Downton Abbey slot on Sunday, while Dancing on Ice returned with more than 8 million.The department store drama, starring Jeremy Piven, had an average of 7.27 million viewers, a 28.6% share of the audience, between 9pm and 10.30pm.In a strong night for ITV1, it dovetailed with the return of Dancing on Ice for its eighth series.The celebrity ice dance show had 8.06 million viewers (31.6%) for its main programme between 6.15pm and 7.45pm, and 7.18 million (25.8%) for its results between 8.30pm and 9pm.Mr Selfridge was only marginally down (0.4%) on the slot average over the last three months, boosted by Downton Abbey, while the main Dancing on Ice show had more than double (125%) ITV1's slot average.However, Dancing on Ice's launch audience was the lowest in the show's history, fewer than the previous low of 8.4 million in 2009. The show's highest launch audience was also its first, 9.5 million viewers in 2006.With All Star Family Fortunes returning with 6.52 million viewers (24.3%) between 7.45pm and 8.30pm, it gave ITV1 a clean sweep over BBC1 on Sunday night.The network, including timeshifted channel ITV1 +1, had a 28.1% share of primetime viewing between 6pm and 10.30pm, ahead of BBC1's 20.6%.The second episode of BBC1's crime drama Ripper Street, up against Mr Selfridge, had 5.37 million viewers, a 19.9% share between 9pm and 10pm. Ripper Street launched with 6.1 million and a 23.6% share the previous Sunday.Antiques Roadshow lost out to All Star Family Fortunes and Dancing on Ice, with 6.08 million viewers (22.2%) between 8pm and 9pm, while Countryfile, BBC1's biggest show of the night, had 6.13 million viewers (23.2%) between 7pm and 8pm.Channel 4 balloted 2.01 million viewers, an 8.8% share, for the terrestrial premiere of Meryl Streep Lady Thatcher movie The Iron Lady between 9pm and 11.05pm.It followed the second episode of Channel 4 docusoap The Hotel, watched by 2.35 million viewers, an 8.6% share, between 8pm and 9pm, the channel's biggest show of the night.Earlier, the last series of Time Team, axed by Channel 4 last year, began on Channel 4 with 1.1 million viewers, a 5.1% share, between 5.25pm and 6.25pm. It was 44% down on the three-month slot average.Over on Channel 5, Celebrity Big Brother had 2.14 million viewers (7.9%) between 9pm and 10pm.