Heroes finale grabs 3.4m viewers

Heroes has become a cult hit within the space of one year

The climax of the first series of US hit show Heroes has attracted a peak audience of 3.4m on BBC Two.

The superhero drama's viewing figures were down almost one million compared to the opening episode in July.

The series became a ratings and critical success in the US when it started in 2006, but failed to win any Emmy Awards despite eight nominations.

Creator Tim Kring recently apologised for a slow start to the second season, which has suffered falling US ratings.

Sluggish storylines

Kring admitted that sluggish storylines and an influx of new characters had led to an audience backlash and promised to get the programme back on track.

BBC Two has struck a deal with US broadcaster NBC to screen future series of the sci-fi show in the UK, including the second series.

The first series was initially shown on cable channel Sci-Fi earlier this year.

The futuristic drama sees a group of characters with special powers unite to try to prevent a chain of events from causing catastrophe in New York.