The BBC’s newest Saturday night show ‘Robin Hood’ had lost 1.5 million viewers by its second episode last week. Only 6.7 million viewers tuned in at the weekend – compared with 8.2 million for its debut.

The X Factor, which had an audience of 7.3 million beat the show hands down leaving ITV in the lead for yet another week.

BBC bosses had hoped that the new Robin Hood series would be able to match the popularity and ratings of Doctor Who, but so far the show seems doomed to failure.

Critics were positive about the show but viewers posting their reviews on the BBC’s own website have been less impressed. One wrote that the new series “made Kevin Costner’s film version look like a work of genius”.