The Queen’s broadcast, simulcast on BBC One and ITV, topped the Christmas Day ratings, with overnight figures showing an average of 7.82 million viewers.
Mrs Brown’s Boys on BBC One, averaging 7.61 million, had the single biggest audience for the second year running.
However, overall figures for live TV viewing were sharply down on last year.
BBC One had seven of the top 10 most watched programmes while ITV had four – the channels shared the Queen’s Christmas Broadcast at 15:00 GMT.
Irish-based sitcom Mrs Brown’s Boys topped the ratings last year. But it dropped from the 9.4 million viewers it attracted then, while second-placed EastEnders also dipped, to 7.55 million. That allowed the traditional 10-minute message from the Queen to move to top spot when figures for both BBC and ITV were collated.
ITV had three other shows in the top 10, according to the figures from the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board, with Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Downton Abbey in seventh, ninth and 10th respectively.
The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast at 15:00 GMT attracted 5.71 million on BBC One and 2.11 million on ITV, while a further 400,000 watched a repeat of the monarch’s message at 17:00 on BBC Two.
Christmas Day top 10
The Queen (BBC One and ITV) – 7.82 million
Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas Special (BBC One) – 7.61 million viewers
EastEnders (BBC One) – 7.55 million
Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special (BBC One) – 6.98 million
Call The Midwife (BBC One) – 6.83 million
Miranda (BBC One) – 6.67 million
Coronation Street (ITV) – 6.41 million
Doctor Who (BBC One) – 6.34 million
Emmerdale (ITV) – 5.53 million
Downton Abbey (ITV) – 5.52 million
Source: Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board (BARB)
Mrs Brown’s Boys was the single most watched programme for a second year in a row
The …read more
Source:: BBC Entertainment
