THE QUEEN OF DAYTIME TELLY
Royal message beats Strictly in Christmas Day TV ratings battle
THE Queen’s speech topped the Christmas Day TV ratings, as more than eight million viewers tuned in.
Her Majesty’s traditional address to the nation, which aired on both the BBC and ITV, was the most-watched programme on the day for the second year running.
The combined peak figure of 8.1million are slightly up on last year’s 7.5million.
In second place was BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing, which drew in a festive audience of 7.2million people.
The episode saw head judge Len Goodman depart from the show after 14 series. The Beeb’s Great British Bake Off Christmas Special was in third place with 6.3million.
BBC One triumphed with eight out of the top 10 most-popular programmes on Christmas Day.
Audiences tuned in for other hits including Mrs Brown’s Boys, Doctor Who and Call the Midwife.
Charlotte Moore, director of BBC content, said: “BBC One entertained the nation on Christmas Day with a fantastic range of high-quality shows. “Strictly Come Dancing took the top spot this year, following a recordbreaking series.”
In the soaps, ITV’s Corrie was the most popular with 6.1million, as Toyah Battersby returned to the cobbles.
ITV achieved an 18.7 per cent share of the total Christmas Day viewing audience, their highest since 2013.
But the Queen ruled. In this year’s broadcast, the 90-year-old monarch spoke about inspiration and those people in the community who inspire her. She congratulated Team GB for success at the 2016 Rio Olympics and Paralympics, saying “inspiration fed aspiration”.
The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast aired simultaneously on BBC One and ITV at 3pm, and was watched by 5.2million on the BBC and 2.9million on ITV – giving a total audience of 8.1million.
Top 10 watched shows on Christmas Day (figs are average audience): 1 The Queen’s Speech (BBC1 & ITV) 7.7m 2 Strictly Come Dancing (BBC1) 7.2m 3 Great British Bake Off (BBC1) 6.3m 4 Mrs Brown’s Boys (BBC1) 6.1m 5 Coronation Street (ITV) 6.1m 6 Call the Midwife (BBC1) 6.1m 7 EastEnders (BBC1) 5.9m 8 Doctor Who (BBC1) 5.7m 9 Emmerdale (ITV) 4.7m 10 Frozen (BBC1) 4.7m