THE BBC has taken the crown in the year’s Christmas TV ratings, but one programme reigned supreme.
Official figures have come in for the big day of TV with the King’s Speech taking out the top spot.
The annual broadcast attracted a peak of seven million viewers for the ten-minute address shown across BBC, ITV, Sky News and GB News.
More than 4.5million tuned in on BBC One and 900,000 to watch King Charles’ message of unity in “divisive times,” meaning the speech got more than 5million viewers over two channels alone.
But Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman’s much-hyped final episode of Strictly Come Dancing took only third place, with 4.3million tuning in for the festive special on BBC One.
In second place was animated kids’ tale The Scarecrows’ Wedding on the same channel with 4.4million viewers, and may have benefited from airing directly after the monarch’s address.
BBC bosses will be hoping that Strictly’s figures rise after seven days when catch-up numbers are consolidated from BBC iPlayer.
Elsewhere, former Christmas Day juggernaut EastEnders slipped to the seventh most-watched programme of the day — with 3.3million viewers.
ITV rivals Coronation Street and Emmerdale both failed to crack the top ten with their high-budget festival specials.
All ratings were well down from 2024, when the BBC enjoyed bumper viewing figures thanks to specials from Gavin and Stacey and animated classic Wallace and Gromit.
The pair drew live audiences of 12.3million and 9.38million respectively.
Viewing figures may have been a bit lower this year but the Beeb still dominated ratings with 16 of the 20 most watched shows on Christmas Day.
Other shows in the top 10 included 3.71million people tuning in to Michael McIntyre’s Christmas Wheel and 3.44million sat down for the Call The Midwife Christmas Special.
Also on BBC One, Brits tuned in to the Christmas specials of Gladiators and Amandaland getting 3.16million and 3.05million viewers respectively.
BBC Weather just before the King’s Speech came in ninth spot, and in 10th spot was ITV1’s most watched show, The 1% Club Christmas Special with 2.7 million tuning in.
In its 1986 prime, EastEnders was watched by 30million people on Christmas Day.
Changing viewing habits have seen those numbers for the big soaps steadily decline over the years.
Eastenders’ two Christmas episodes this year featured a shock death as Anthony Trueman was killed amid Chrissie Watts’ return after revealing herself as behind Zoe Slater’s stalker ordeal.
And in another development Cindy Beale and Max Branning ended up sleeping together after they failed to recognise each other – despite Cindy’s searing hatred of Max for killing her son Steven and sleeping with her teenage daughter Lucy.
