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Simon Duke

Prince Harry suffers Happy Valley 'defeat' as BBC drama wins ratings battle

Early indications suggest that Prince Harry was beaten by Happy Valley in Sunday night's TV ratings battle, as viewers were forced to pick between his ITV interview and the latest episode of the hit BBC drama.

Weeks before it even aired on ITV, Harry's sit down chat with journalist Tom Bradby has made headlines across the world and, in the days leading up to its broadcast, a series of preview clips were released, including a bombshell from the Duke of Sussex that he was involved in a physical altercation with brother Prince William and casting doubts on him attending his father King Charles III's coronation later this year.

The 95 minute interview went out on ITV1 at 9pm on Sunday, meaning it was in direct competition with the second episode of the second episode of Happy Valley's third and final series. In the hours before both shows went to air, many viewers took to Twitter to declare they'd be choosing Happy Valley over Harry, and the majority did as overnight figures have Happy Valley on 5.25million viewers, compared to Harry: The Interview’s 4.10million.

READ MORE: ITV's Tom Bradby sparks 'unexpected' reaction from Prince Harry critics as interview airs

While that figure is significantly down on Happy Valley's new series launch on New Year's Day, it's an even sharper drop for ITV compared to the ratings for Harry and Meghan's Oprah Winfrey interview in 2021, which peaked at 12.4 million.

While Harry's interview proved to be rather compelling, particularly Tom Bradby's questions on his step mother and Queen Consort, Camilla, Happy Valley also shared up its fair share of drama, with Sarah Lancashire's character Catherine Cawood rocked by a shocking family betrayal.

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