ITV narrows gap on BBC in Christmas ratings battle

The BBC's traditional Christmas Day superiority over ITV has continued for another year.



Seven out of ten of last night's most-watched programmes were on BBC One, with Absolutely Fabulous and Michael McIntyre joining familiar favourites EastEnders, Doctor Who and Strictly Come Dancing on the list.

Controller Danny Cohen said in a statement: "BBC One had the most popular show and the most viewers overall on Christmas Day. From Doctor Who to Gruffalo's Child, EastEnders to Strictly, Michael McIntyre and Ab Fab, we wanted to provide something for everyone."

Despite losing out for another year, ITV celebrated its best Christmas Day performance since 2004. Coronation Street moved further up the list to second, while Downton Abbey was a new arrival in fourth and Emmerdale made tenth place. All Star Family Fortunes narrowly missed out on the top ten.

An ITV spokesperson commented: "We're delighted that so many viewers enjoyed ITV1's Christmas Day schedule, including events from Downton Abbey, Coronation Street and Emmerdale. It's a terrific achievement for ITV1 to have recorded its best peaktime Christmas performance since 2004."

The top ten most-watched programmes on Christmas Day were as follows:
1. EastEnders: 9.92m (33.4%) - BBC One
2. Coronation Street: 9.03m (32.8%) - ITV1
3. Doctor Who: 8.92m (34.2%) - BBC One
4. Downton Abbey: 8.13m (29.4%) - ITV1
5. Strictly Come Dancing: 7.52m (27.3%) - BBC One
6. Absolutely Fabulous: 7.43m (27.5%) - BBC One
7. The Gruffalo's Child - 6.47m (27.7%) - BBC One
8. Michael McIntyre's Christmas Roadshow: 6.45m (29.2%) - BBC One
9. The Queen - 6.29m (37.3%) - BBC One
10. Emmerdale - 6.24m (27.2%) - ITV1

*Timeshift channel ratings and repeat airings not included in this list.