Housewives star Felicity Huffman (second right) won an Emmy

Now in its second series, the suburban drama beat animated show The Simpsons, which drew an estimated 10.2 million.

However, the new episode of Desperate Housewives failed to match the 30.3 million who watched the first series US finale in May.

In the UK, 4.1 million watched the first series finale in June. The second series starts in the UK in January.

Comedy actress award

The Sunday ratings for Desperate Housewives compared favourably with drama series Lost, which drew 23 million US viewers to the first episode of its second series last Wednesday.

Last week Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman was named best comedy actress while Lost was best drama at the US Emmy awards.

Ratings tracker Nielsen Media Research said TV network ABC, which broadcasts Desperate Housewives in the US, topped Sunday evening's ratings overall with an average of 18.4 million viewers.

ABC programmes Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Grey's Anatomy also attracted a large number of viewers.