The Legend of the Tamworth Two attracted over five million viewers

The channel had an audience share of 22.2% in the seven days up to Easter Sunday - its lowest ever weekly figure. ITV1's share in that week was 22.9%.

Primetime highlights such as Nicky Campbell quiz Come and Have a Go If You Think You're Smart Enough on Saturday night, drew three million viewers.

But a spokeswoman for the BBC said the channel had offered a "great depth and breadth" of programmes.

Meanwhile, ITV said it was "very pleased" with their ratings, especially their entertainment and drama programmes.

Broad schedule

The BBC spokeswoman said: "You have to be philosophical about ratings. It is tough out there for everyone."

"The BBC offered a wide depth and breadth of programmes covering every genre, from a primetime Panorama programme on Iraq to and a number of new programmes on the arts.

"We also had Brilliantly British, Historyonics and new drama The Legend of the Tamworth Two.

"That is what the BBC is there for - they are examples of shows which you would not be able to find elsewhere in the schedule."

School holidays

Both BBC One and ITV were hit by a strong performance by digital channels - including BBC Three, BBC Four and ITV2 - which took a record 27.7% of all viewing.

A screening of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on Sky Movies 1 attracted 460,000 viewers, while Sky Sports 1's coverage of the Newcastle v Arsenal Premiership game attracted 1.4m viewers at home.

The BBC spokeswoman added: "The figures prove exactly why the BBC needed a digital strategy to be able to offer across the board."

An ITV spokeswoman said ITV1's audience was "up year on year, week on week".

"Who Wants to Be A Millionaire achieved its highest audience for the year and the final episode of comedy drama William and Mary got 7.7m viewers," she said.