EastEnders has won the Christmas Day TV ratings battle for the third consecutive year, according to overnight figures. The BBC One soap peaked at 10.2 million viewers, narrowly beating ITV's Coronation Street, which attracted 9.9 million at its peak. Average audiences were 9.9 million and 9.3 million respectively.
ITV's Downton Abbey Christmas special was the third most-watched programme at its peak, with BBC One's Doctor Who in fourth place. However, based on average viewing figures, Doctor Who (8.9 million) outperformed Downton Abbey (8.6 million over its two-hour special). The Queen's Speech, broadcast on both BBC and ITV, was watched by 8.2 million viewers.
Other top-rated shows included BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing and a revival of Absolutely Fabulous. ITV's Emmerdale drew 7.1 million peak viewers, followed by All Star Family Fortunes. The animated film The Gruffalo's Child and Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow tied for tenth place.
ITV's figures were boosted by including viewers on its +1 channel, a service the BBC lacks. However, the BBC's repeat of EastEnders on BBC Three attracted an additional peak of 867,000 viewers, pushing the soap past 11 million. BBC One controller Danny Cohen said: 'BBC One had the most popular show and the most viewers overall on Christmas Day.'
BBC entertainment correspondent Lizo Mzimba noted that while the BBC won the overnight battle, ITV had its strongest showing in years, with multiple programmes in the top ten. He also observed a continuing decline in Christmas Day terrestrial viewing, as no programme averaged 10 million viewers this year.
