Jim Davidson’s old-style stand-up has proved more popular than the most-hyped new comedy show on TV.

Depsite a huge marketing push, the first episode in the third series of Avid Merion’s Bo’ Selecta was trounced in the ratings by Davidson’s one man-show on Friday night.

In contrast to Channel 4, which booked billboard ads and trailed the show heavily, the BBC made no effort to promote Jim Davidson On The Road.

Yet his show, recorded in Llandudno, north Wales, attracted four million viewers, according to overnight figures, or  more than a quarter of the audience.

In contrast, Bo’ Selecta was seen by 2.6 million; although its 15 per cent audience share is very good for Channel 4.

Frank Skinner and David Baddiel also suffered a ratings shock over the weekend.

Despite the hoopla surrounding Euro 2004, their Fantasy Football show on ITV1 attracted fewer viewers than a Panorama documentary about forged banknotes.

An audience of 3.2 million viewers saw their sofa-based antics, compared to the 3.9 million who tuned into BBC1.