Last night's final episode of The Great British Bake Off pulled in Channel 4's largest overnight audience in at least 18 years, early ratings figures show.

The conclusion to the 11th series of the cookery contest - filmed in a giant coronavirus production bubble over the summer - averaged 9.2 million viewers (a 39.7% audience share) between 8pm and 9.15pm.

The ratings are the best overnight numbers for the show since it moved from the BBC in 2017 and the best for Channel 4 in general since the current method of calculating overnights was introduced in 2002.

A peak of 10.8m (45.6%) were watching towards the end of the episode as 20-year-old Peter Sawkins was crowned as the programme's youngest ever winner.

The overnight number is expected to swell significantly once catch-up and DVR viewing is accounted for over the next 28 days and is almost certain to eclipse the consolidated audience of 10.8m for the first episode, broadcast in September.