The action packed new Robin Hood TV series has proved a hit with audiences beating Ant and Dec's show by more than a million viewers last night, according to figures released today.

The BBC's £8 million 13-episode series about the legendary outlaw was watched by 8.2m people on average compared to the Geordie duo's Saturday Night Takeaway which only attracted 7m when shown at about the same time on ITV1.

The Corporation is hoping the show - starring an unknown, Jonas Armstrong, as hoodie-wearing, Robin, and Keith Allen as the Sheriff of Nottingham - will take off in the same way as the reinvented Dr Who, whose viewing slot it fills.

Robin Hood had a peak viewership of 8.5m compared to 10.5m for the first episode of the resurrected sci-fi series, which at the time starred Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper.

In general the BBC appeared to win the first round in the autumn battle for Saturday night audiences with its new series of Strictly Come Dancing and its coverage of international football also seeing off competition from ITV1.

England's Euro 2008 qualifier match against Macedonia attracted 7.1m viewers on average while the talent show X Factor 6.3m.

The celebrity dance show presented by Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly was watched by 8.8m while the second instalment of X Factor, which named the final 12 acts, attracted 8.4 million and had the highest peak viewership of any show last night - 9.9m.

National Lottery: 1 vs 100 was watched by 6.2m while the Strictly Come Dancing results show 7.4m, according to the figures from official ratings body Barb.

Yesterday the BBC1 also screened for the first time its new "idents" - eight mini-films broadcast in between programmes - based around the symbol of a circle.

Peter Fincham the controller of BBC1 said: "I'm thrilled that last night's schedule proved such a hit with BBC1 audiences.

"A very strong start for Robin Hood was followed up by an exceptional return for Strictly Come Dancing and 1 vs 100 is really hitting its stride.

"Together with the launch of our idents this was an important day for BBC1."