Neighbours holds audience on Five

Neighbours has become a daytime TV fixture

The first teatime airing of Neighbours on Five attracted an audience of 2.3m, holding steady on the 2.5m picked up by its Friday swansong on BBC One.

But the Australian soap opera, which was on the BBC for 22 years, pulled in one million viewers for its lunchtime debut, down from 2.4m on Friday.

The long-running series' debut on Five was preceded by a behind-the-scenes look at the programme.

Five won the rights to the drama after the BBC pulled out of a bidding war.

The teatime screening easily outperformed other shows on Five throughout the day and during peak time, with evening drama Blue Streak bringing in 1.3 million viewers.

New soap

BBC One's former Neighbours slot has been replaced by quiz show The Weakest Link, which attracted an audience of 2.2 million people.

The programme, hosted by Anne Robinson has been moved from BBC Two.

Stefan Dennis has revived his Neighbours role as Paul Robinson

Children's shows including Blue Peter have been moved to earlier times to accommodate the 45-minute show.

Neighours on Five is being followed by fellow Australian soap Home and Away, which has been a staple on the channel since 2000 after it moved from ITV.

In December, the BBC announced plans to commission a new Sydney-based soap to replace Neighbours, but a transmission time has yet to be determined.

Neighbours, which first aired on BBC One in 1986, commanded a combined audience of 19 million for its lunchtime and teatime screenings at its peak in 1990.

Despite falling ratings, the soap has remained among the most popular shows on daytime television.