ITV dealt huge blow as BBC rules Christmas TV viewing figures

James Corden gives his thoughts on further Gavin and Stacey episodes

With Christmas now done and dusted, many of us sat down to watch some of our favourite Yuletide specials - with the likes of Gavin & Stacey, Doctor Who and EastEnders all being on the TV schedule.

It has been confirmed that the BBC dominated the Christmas Day ratings, whilst ITV only managing to avoid a complete ratings disaster with shows such as The Chase saving the day.

The top 10 shows that were watched on Christmas Day were all shown on the BBC, which is a first for the broadcaster ever according to TVZone UK. It was their biggest share on Christmas Day since 2007, marking this year to be a rather historical one.

Five years on from the previous special’s cliffhanger, the feature-length Gavin & Stacey final saw 12.32 million people tune in to find out what happened after Nessa's proposal to Smithy.

The beloved comedy, which first hit screens in 2007, broke its own record set in 2019 when 11 million people watched the penultimate episode.

READ MORE: A Christmas miracle as Gavin & Stacey win the Xmas TV battle [LATEST]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by James Corden (@j_corden)

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl was a distant second on Christmas Day, with 9 million fans watching the latest instalment. The King's annual Christmas Day speech pulled in 6.82 million, coming in third place.

Call The Midwife was watched by just over 4.42 million people, with EastEnders (Part 2) just coming into fifth place with 4.39 million. The soap is closely followed by Doctor Who which was watched by 4.1 million.

Strictly Come Dancing closely came in next with 4.05 million viewers. EastEnders (Part 1) attracted 4 million viewers and was followed by the children's animated show, Tiddler, which had 3.2 million.

Coming in 10th place is The Weakest Link, which garnered 3.05 million fans. However, despite BBC dominating the day, ITV did manage to pull in a number of viewers during The Chase and the newly-revamped Bullseye.

window.topArticlesScript="https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/js/dist/article-top-articles20241219.min.js"

The final ever episode of Gavin and Stacey pulled in the most viewings (Image: BBC)

Don't miss...
The 1% Club host Lee Mack forced to apologise after awkward blunder [READ]
Emmerdale star Karen Blick's life including real age fans 'can't believe' [LATEST]
Coronation Street Rob Donovan's return confirmed - but it's not good news [OPINION]

SUBSCRIBE Invalid email

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our Privacy Policy

Bradley Walsh's beloved ITV quiz show The Chase attracted only 2.5 million, whilst Bullseye pulled in between 2-2.5 million on the day.

Meanwhile, Outnumbered fans have slammed the BBC show following its latest Christmas episode, with some loyal followers labelling it as "embarrassingly bad" and calling the series one of the "worst programmes on TV all year."

Earlier this year, telly schedulers were left brimming with excitement over Outnumbered returning for a Yuletide Christmas special. It marked eight years since the Brockman family were last on our screens, with the cast previously returning in 2016 for a festive episode.

This year, the show aired on Boxing Day and saw actors Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner reprising their roles, with Tyger Drew-Honey, Daniel Roche and Ramona Marquez returning as their now grown-up children.

However, fans quickly reacted on social media and voiced their disappointment over the episode. One person said on X that the acting was "dreadful" and watching it was an "awful waste of time."