The BBC and FX’s adaptation of A Christmas Carol scared off nearly a third of its audience in the UK — but it still just about beat the competition on other channels.

The second episode of Scott Free London and Hardy Son & Baker’s reimagining of Charles Dickens’ classic tale was watched by 3.34M viewers on BBC One on Monday at 9.05PM.

This was 30%, or 1.4M viewers, down on the first episode, which was watched by 4.7M people at the same time on Sunday night, according to BARB figures supplied by overnights.tv.

A Christmas Carol, which was written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight and stars Guy Pearce as Scrooge, still just about won its slot, marginally edging the competition on ITV, which broadcast Gordon Ramsay’s Gordon, Gino And Fred: Christmas Road Trip — Three Unwise Men to 3.32M.

Furthermore, its 18.30% share of the total viewing population at 9PM was up on BBC One’s slot average of 15.18% — so it wasn’t all bad news for the Dickens adaptation.

It is not uncommon for dramas to lose a big chunk of their audience for their second episode and A Christmas Carol‘s audience will rise once catch-up and online viewing figures are available. The three-part series concludes tonight on BBC One at 9PM.