Live Coronation Street draws 15 million viewers
Thursday night's hour-long show, which went with barely a hitch, brought the programme its biggest audience for nearly seven years.
The slice of high drama – which left viewers on tenterhooks as the tram crash disaster continued – pulled in 14.9 million viewers at its peak, with an average of 14 million watching throughout.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe show attracted more than half of last night's TV audience. The Apprentice: The Final Five, which was broadcast at the same time, drew just 2.5 million viewers.
ITV's director of TV, Peter Fincham, said: "The gripping drama that has played out on Coronation Street this week has been a truly fitting 50th anniversary celebration for the world's greatest soap."
The 65-strong cast delivered a near-seamless performance as show chiefs crammed a birth, a death and a wedding into 60 highly charged scenes.