The BBC has revealed the broadcast viewing figures for Christmas Day 2020 and the Queen is firmly at number one with the annual Christmas Message
The Queen kept this year’s Christmas Message to the point, and topped the viewing charts, comfortably beating the Call The Midwife Christmas Special, which was the most popular drama. We don’t know the iPlayer figures for the 4K HDR version of the speech, but with an audience of 6.3 million, we don’t think the additional viewers will make a large contribution to the total.
The BBC’s top 10 (as revealed here) is:
|
Rank |
Programme |
Channel |
Millions |
|
1 |
The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast |
BBC One |
6.3 |
|
2 |
Call the Midwife |
BBC One |
5.4 |
|
3 |
Blankety Blank Christmas Special |
BBC One |
5.3 |
|
4 |
Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Countdown |
BBC One |
4.9 |
|
5 |
The Wheel |
BBC One |
4.7 |
|
6 |
Coronation Street |
ITV |
4.5 |
|
7 |
Mrs Brown’s Boys |
BBC One |
3.8 |
|
8 |
Emmerdale |
ITV |
3.6 |
|
9 |
EastEnders |
BBC One |
3.5 |
|
10 |
The Chase |
ITV |
It’s all a far cry from years gone by, when people had far fewer alternatives. If we go back even ten years, the figures (co the BBC) for 2010 are:
EastEnders – 11.4m (43.2%)
Come Fly With Me – 10.3m (41.1%)
Doctor Who – 10.3m (39.8%)
The Royle Family – 9.9m (38.6%)
Strictly Come Dancing – 9.4m (34.4%)
Coronation Street – 9.0m (33.1%)
The One Ronnie – 7.9m (37.3%)
Shrek The Third – 7.2m (41.9%)
Emmerdale – 7.2m (27.9%)
BBC News – 7.0m (36.1%)
It’s dwarfed even further by figures such as Only Fools And Horses (BBC1, 2001) with an audience of 21.34 million. And, famously, more than 30 million people watched Den and Angie Watts in Eastenders on Christmas Day 1986.
If you didn’t catch the Queen’s Christmas Message, it’s available on iPlayer here for the next eleven months.