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"Downton Abbey made a successful return to ITV on Sunday night (September 16), pulling in over 8.6 million viewers. Shirley MacLaine&amp;#039;s debut in the hit period drama&amp;#039;s third series opener was seen by 8.64m (34.6%) and 380k (2.4%) on ITV1 +1, around 200k lower than last autumn&amp;#039;s second series premiere.   However, Downton inherited a smaller X Factor lead-in than it did in 2011, with the singing contest&amp;#039;s final round of auditions drawing 9.33m (36.4%) in the 8pm hour and 397k (1.5%) on timeshift. The Xtra Factor appealed to 1.14m (4.3%) at 9pm over on ITV2, adding 214k (1.1%) on timeshift. Despite topping the night and setting a new series high, The X Factor&amp;#039;s ITV1 ratings are down a sizeable 1.9m on last year&amp;#039;s equivalent instalment. Bradley Walsh gameshow The Chase made an encouraging start in the 7pm slot, entertaining 4.82m (22.7%) for its first celebrity special. Overall, ITV1 reigned victorious in primetime with 31.1% (+1: 1%) over BBC One&amp;#039;s 18.5%, Channel 4&amp;#039;s 5.4% (+1: 1%), BBC Two&amp;#039;s 5%, and Channel 5&amp;#039;s 3.2% (+1: 0.4%). Fake or Fortune? (3.79m/19.1%), Countryfile (5.82m/24.5%) and Inspector George Gently (4.33m/16.5%) aired on BBC One, while BBC Two screened China on Four Wheels (1.22m/4.7%) and Dragons&amp;#039; Den (1.75m/6.7%). Channel 4&amp;#039;s Big Fat Quiz of the 80s enthralled 1.69m (6.8%) between 9pm and 10.30pm, logging a further 286k (1.8%) on +1. Not a single programme topped a million viewers on Channel 5.  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/downton-abbey/news/a406332/downton-abbey-series-three-premieres-with-86-million/>