Christmas Day TV ratings are revealed
The television ratings for Christmas Day 2023 have been released, with BBC broadcasts dominating the charts.
The broadcaster had nine of the top 10 programmes for the day, with King Charles III’s Christmas message bringing in the most viewers overall (5.9 million).
In second place was the Strictly Come Dancing festive special, with 5.3 million viewers tuning in to watch six couples take to the dancefloor.
Related: Strictly Come Dancing confirms 2023 Christmas special winners
Rounding out the podium was Doctor Who, with 4.7 million viewers watching Ncuti Gatwa make his full debut as the Time Lord in ‘The Church on Ruby Road'.
Other BBC entries in the top 10 include the specials for Ghosts, Call the Midwife (both 4.4 million) and EastEnders (3.6 million), with the latter revealing the truth in its long-awaited The Six storyline.
The top 10 was rounded out by Michael McIntyre’s Christmas Wheel (4.2 million), Toy Story 4 (3.5 million) and Tabby McTat (3.3 million), with the only non-BBC entry being The 1% Club, which drew 3.4 million viewers on ITV1.
The charts naturally don’t include streaming figures, with several viewers set to flock to BBC iPlayer to catch up on their favourite programmes. Doctor Who in particular could be set to benefit, with lead star Gatwa recently talking about the support he has received.
Related: Doctor Who trailer confirms May 2024 release date for Ncuti Gatwa's first full series
“I had a bit of an introduction into the madness of what I do with Sex Education,” he began. “My feet were slowly finding their way back down to the ground again, and then Doctor Who came about, and it was like, 'Oh, wow, life is crazy!’
“But what has been really nice this year is being so welcomed by the Whovians who took me into their bosom very, very lovingly. It's a very warm place to be and I feel very grateful to have found my way into that world.”
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