Poldark has returned to the top spot in the Sunday drama ratings battle, beating ITV's The Loch on the June 11 night.

The opener for the third series of the BBC One favorite took in 5.5 million viewers, Digital Spy reports citing Telly Mix.

This was up on last year, where it came off second best against ITV's Victoria by taking in 5.1 million for its series opener and continued to struggle thanks to the clash.

New six-part drama The Loch took second place with 5 million viewers, ahead of Channel 4's The Handmaid's Tale with 1 million.

The biggest scorer of the night was Antiques Roadshow, raking in 5.9 million viewers, ahead of Countryfile's 5.3 million. Elsewhere, Love Island pipped Big Brother on the reality TV side of things with 1.3 million to the Channel 5 show's 1.1 million.

Poldark's return last night had plenty of drama in store for viewers, who had been eagerly awaiting its return – including a wedding and the birth of Elizabeth and George's (but not really George's) baby.

Viewers had particular opinions on just how naive George was, though most were just pleased to see Poldark back on their screens, Digital Spy said.