Story so far: Corrie's Hayley steals the show as Broadchurch audience rivals Downton

The first episode of the final series of the crime drama drew 7.5 million viewers, giving the channel a 34% audience share and winning the 9pm timeslot.

Meet The Lords on BBC Two drew 1.7 million, while BBC One’s Crimewatch attracted 1.5 million.

The final episode of Downton Abbey on Christmas Day in 2015 drew 6.6 million viewers in the overnight ratings, as people tuned in to wish a fond farewell to the Crawley family.

The penultimate episode of the period drama in November of that year pulled in 8.8 million.

Broadchurch returned on Monday for a third and final series as Olivia Colman and David Tennant as DS Ellie Miller and DI Alec Hardy lead an investigation into a rape in the fictional Dorset town.

The series premiere fell slightly short of the first episode of series two, which launched in 2105 to 7.6 million, while the first episode of the first series pulled in 6.8 million.

Police and rape counsellors have praised the makers of the drama and said they hope the storyline will encourage victims to come forward.

Viewers were moved by harrowing scenes in which Trish Winterman, played by former Coronation Street actress Julie Hesmondhalgh, recounted being raped in the series opener.

The show’s writer, Chris Chibnall, said he wanted to tell the story after continued increases in the number of sexual offences being reported to police.

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Viewers hailed Hesmondhalgh for giving a “masterclass in acting”. Many were moved by harrowing scenes in which her character, Trish, recounts being raped by a mysterious attacker, calling the actress “a scene stealer”.

One wrote on Twitter: “Can we just give Julie Hesmondhalgh all of the acting awards now please?”

Another said: “Julie Hesmondhalgh is giving a masterclass in acting.”

“Julie Hesmondhalgh is SO good. She brought Hayley to life in #Corrie in ways people never thought possible. Scene stealer in #Broadchurch,” tweeted another viewer.

One said: “Wow. David Tennant and Olivia Colman are phenomenal but Julie Hesmondhalgh was out of this world what an episode!”

The actress, who formerly played the transgender character Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street, has said she hopes Broadchurch makes “great strides in raising awareness as well as being a good piece of TV drama”.

She told BBC Breakfast the show was “making it really clear, just by casting me, as an ordinary middle-aged woman, (that) it can happen to anybody obviously, that it isn’t an act of sex, it’s an act of violence”.

The episode also saw Lenny Henry appear as farm shop manager Ed.

It was announced early in 2016 that the actor was signing up for the third series but details of his role had been under wraps.