King Charles III’s annual Christmas broadcast took over UK television viewership on December 25 according to official ratings from Overnights.tv.
The monarch’s address attracted over 6.5 million viewers across BBC1, BBC2, ITV and smaller channels to top the day’s rankings.
In second was a Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special with 5.4 million BBC1 viewers. The debut of Ncuti Gatwa as the 14th Doctor in a Doctor Who holiday special took 4.5 million, a highly anticipated start for the Sex Education star’s tenure.
King Charles’ address focused on themes of compassion, care and environmentalism that have long been priorities for him. His heartening Christmas message found a receptive audience of over 7.5 million accounting for playback.
Other top shows included a new Julia Donaldson animated feature Tabby McTat and the final ever episode of sitcom Ghosts. ITV quiz The 1% Club was the sole non-BBC1 entry in the top ten, which was otherwise dominated by the public broadcaster.
The BBC touted its successful Christmas programming, noting its 27% overall share was more than double its closest competitor.
