King's speech tops Christmas ratings with surprise second place beating Strictly
The overnight ratings are considerably lower than last year's.
The King's Christmas message was the most watched programme on Christmas Day, with almost 7 million viewers tuning in to watch the royal address, according to BARB's overnight figures.
That total combines all those who watched across various channels – including BBC, ITV, Sky News and GB News – as King Charles made his annual speech from the changed location of Westminster Abbey.
In the address, the King urged the British public to get "to know our neighbours" as he made the case for forging greater community spirit in a world that has become increasingly divided.
The second most viewed programme of the day was The Scarecrows' Wedding, the animated adaptation of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's picture book, which was watched by 4.3 million people.
That's marginally more than the 4.2 million who tuned in to watch Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman host Strictly Come Dancing for the last time in the beloved ballroom show's festive special.
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Meanwhile, the top five in the day's ratings was rounded out by Michael McIntryre's The Wheel (3.7m) and the Call the Midwife Christmas Special (3.4m).
The figures mark a significant downturn as compared to last year, which had seen the highest Christmas Day overnight ratings since 2008. Of course, last year's top two were the final episode of Gavin & Stacey (which was watched by 12.3 million) and new Wallace and Gromit film Vengeance Most Fowl, which saw 9.4 million viewers tune in.
With no similarly major event broadcasts happening this time around, it was perhaps always inevitable that the figures would be lower. But even programmes that aired both years saw their total viewers dwindle, with just 2.85 million viewers tuning in to the first of two EastEnders specials this year, down from 4.4m and 4m for the two episodes in 2004.
You can find the full breakdown of the top 10 most-watched shows on the day below:
The King's Christmas Broadcast – 6.56m
The Scarecrows' Wedding – 4.31m
Strictly Come Dancing – 4.24m
Michael McIntyre's The Wheel – 3.71m
Call the Midwife – 3.44m
Gladiators – 3.16m
Amandaland – 3.05m
EastEnders – 2.85m
The 1% Club – 2.75m
The Weakest Link – 2.63m
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Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
