King Charles’s annual message is most watched TV show in UK on Christmas Day

The king’s Christmas address was the most watched TV programme in the UK on Christmas Day, overnight data has shown.

Nearly 7 million viewers tuned in to the BBC, ITV, Sky News or GB News to watch King Charles deliver his annual message, which was recorded in Westminster Abbey. Charles praised the “great diversity of our communities” and used his Christmas address, to urge the nation to “cherish the values of compassion and reconciliation”.

Although the king’s address was watched by roughly the same number of people as last year, it was Gavin and Stacey that won the festive TV ratings battle in 2024, with the show’s final farewell becoming the most watched Christmas Day programme in 16 years with an average of 12.3 million viewers.

The Scarecrows’ Wedding, based on the picture book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler and broadcast on BBC One, was the second most popular programme this year, watched by 4.3 million people.

The Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special – which Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman hosted together for the last time – was the third most popular programme, with 4.2 million tuning in.

During the send-off, both outgoing presenters received Christmas gifts from the judges – a dance for Daly and a comedy skit for Winkleman. Their final dance ended with a tearful embrace, with Daly saying: “It’s our final time. So let’s make it count,” before the pair signed off with the catchphrase “keep dancing”.

EastEnders had a drop in viewers compared with last year, with the first of two Christmas Day episodes becoming the eighth most-watched this year, with 2.85 million viewers. The second episode did not make the viewing figures top 10.

After a difficult year, however, BBC executives will have been pleased to note that programmes from the public broadcaster made up nine of the top 10 most watched programmes across the day. A festive episode of The 1% Club, the quiz hosted by Lee Mack on ITV1, was in ninth place with 2.75 million watching.

The BBC’s chief content officer, Kate Phillips, said this was “a timely reminder that shared moments really do still matter even in a world of so much choice”.

All figures are based on official “overnight” TV ratings from Barb (Broadcast Audience Research Board), which uses a panel of homes to measure what people watch across TV sets, online and via other devices.

The overnight figures from Christmas Day do not include viewers who watch Christmas specials on catchup services during the rest of the festive period and do not include the small number watching the king’s message on Sky Showcase, Sky Mix HD or other non-TV platforms.

A still from The Scarecrows’ Wedding. Photograph: BBC/Magic Light Pictures