Cowell the king

X Factor pips Gavin & Stacey as top show of 2010s

IN recent years it has seen dwindling viewing figures amid claims of a distinct lack of direction.

But while there have been questions surrounding the future of Simon Cowell’s show The X Factor, it has been revealed that one episode was the most watched TV programme of the past decade.

A total of 17.7million viewers saw the 2010 final as Matt Cardle won the soughtafter record contract – a far cry from the show’s most recent audience figures, which came in at 2.6million. Last year’s Christmas Day Gavin & Stacey special took second spot overall, pulling in 17.1million viewers.

No single genre dominates the list of the top 25 most-watched programmes of the decade, which was compiled from figures published by Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board.

The list features a variety of programmes, from comedy and sci-fi to drama and natural history – but only includes shows made for television, rather than live events such as sporting fixtures and royal weddings. Soaps appear to remain a hit, with episodes of eastenders and Coronation Street making the list’s top five.

eastenders took third place for its 2010 live episode, which focused on who had killed Larry Lamb’s character Archie Mitchell. It attracted 16.4million viewers for the episode, shown as part of the soap’s 25th anniversary celebrations.

The top 25 list, which is based on the highest-rated instance of each programme, is dominated by the BBC – with 19 shows being broadcast on BBC One. The remaining six were shown on ITV. The single biggest TV audience of the 2010s

– including live events – was for BBC One’s coverage of 2012’s Olympics closing ceremony, which featured performances by the Spice Girls, The Who and George Michael and was watched by 24.5million.

It narrowly beat the opening ceremony, which was watched by an average of 24.2million.