King Charles's Christmas Message Tops UK Christmas Day TV Ratings
King Charles’s annual Christmas message was the most-watched TV programme in the UK on Christmas Day, attracting nearly 7 million viewers according to overnight Barb ratings. The address, recorded at Westminster Abbey, urged compassion and reconciliation and highlighted the diversity of communities across the country. The overnight audience was broadly similar to last year's figures.
The Scarecrows’ Wedding on BBC One was the second most-watched show with about 4.3 million viewers, closely followed by the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special at approximately 4.2 million. EastEnders’ first of two Christmas Day episodes drew 2.85 million viewers, while the second episode did not make the top 10. BBC programmes dominated the top 10 Christmas Day list, occupying nine of the ten slots. The 1% Club on ITV1 ranked ninth with around 2.75 million viewers.
Barb's overnight data exclude catch-up viewing and non-TV platforms such as Sky Showcase and Sky Mix HD; the figures reflect TV-set based viewing across BBC, ITV, Sky News, and GB News. The Guardian’s top-10 list shows King Charles's message at 6.56 million viewers in overnight figures, not including other channels.
