THE BBC was last night under pressure to return Spooks to its weekday slot after it was trounced in the ratings by Downton Abbey.
The spy show — which stars Peter Firth as Harry Pearce — pulled in just 4.6 million viewers compared with Downton's 10.4 million after it was moved to the Sunday night spot.

It was one of its worst ratings performances since it began in 2002.

The decision to move the show was slammed by viewers. And Downton star Dan Stevens said: "It would annoy me if I was in Spooks because they had a loyal following and then changed the night.