'Eastenders' most-watched Christmas programme
A typically festive 'EastEnders' in which Archie Mitchell was murdered was the most watched television programme in the UK yesterday with nearly 11 million viewers.
The soap pulled in 45.9% of the total television audience, the BBC said, recording 10.9 million viewers on average and a peak of 11.9 million.
It was followed on the schedule by 'The Royle Family' which attracted an audience of 10.2 million (42.5%).
'Doctor Who' chalked up 10 million viewers, which was a 42.2% audience share, and 'Gavin and Stacey' 9.2 million (39.2%).
Eight of the top 10 shows yesterday were BBC broadcasts, apart from 'Coronation Street' which came sixth with 7.9 million viewers and the Queen’s speech which pulled in 5.6 million.
BBC One controller Jay Hunt said: “I am thrilled that BBC One continues to be the channel of choice for Christmas Day viewing. The range and variety of our line-up this year offered something for all audiences to enjoy.”
More viewers tuned in to Christmas favourites in high definition, the most popular being 'Doctor Who' with an audience of 343,000, and then The Gruffalo with 249,000.
This was up on last year when 120,000 watched 'Wallace and Gromit' in HD.
BBC Director of Vision Jana Bennett said: “The BBC’s commitment to providing the best possible viewing can be seen in these audience figures.
“Alongside great performances from BBC One and BBC Two I am particularly delighted that BBC HD’s performance continues to go from strength to strength.”
An ITV spokesman said: “ITV1 has had a successful 2009, in which it has consolidated its position as the UK’s leading peak time broadcaster and dominated the year’s most watched programmes, particularly in entertainment and drama – with the channel having shown the top seven new dramas this year. After a fantastic autumn for ITV1, we are pleased that viewers enjoyed a broad range of Christmas programming across all channels.”
