Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards, the noisy 5 drama about the disgraced BBC News presenter, performed strongly on Tuesday night.

The feature-length drama (originally commissioned as a two-parter) debuted with more than 1.5M viewers on the Paramount-owned UK network, per BARB figures supplied by overnights.tv.

Martin Clunes (Doc Martin) depicts Edwards in the Wonderhood Studios-produced show, which chronicles his reckoning over workplace misconduct allegations and a child pornography conviction.

The Downfall of Huw Edwards‘s 1.5M viewers delivered a share of 17.4%, which was up 12 points, or 199%, on what an average show gets in 5’s 9PM slot, according to Paramount.

The drama beat rivals, including ITV and Channel 4. BBC1’s MasterChef: The Professionals won the slot with an average audience of 1.8M.

The Downfall of Huw Edwards was also well ahead of other 5 dramas shown over the past year. The Trial, another single drama, secured an overnight audience of 355,400 last May. The Forsytes, the PBS Masterpiece series acquired by 5, debuted with 904,610 last October.

Overnight figures are only one part of the picture, meaning The Downfall of Huw Edwards‘ ratings will grow with catchup and streaming.

Edwards expressed concerns about the drama. In a blistering statement this week, the former newsreader said producers “made no attempt to check with me the truth of any aspect of their narrative before going ahead with the production.”

He added: “They belatedly asked for a response after the drama had been made, while reserving the right to edit any such response. They also refused to disclose whether any of those making allegations had been paid for their contributions. Channel 5’s ‘factual drama’ is hardly likely to convey the reality of what happened.”

A 5 spokesperson said the drama was based on extensive interviews, would comply with UK broadcasting rules, and allegations were presented to Edwards more than a month before transmission.