Gavin & Stacey most-watched Christmas Day TV programme in 23 years

The final episode of Gavin & Stacey is the UK’s most-watched TV programme shown on Christmas Day in 23 years, new figures show.

Official ratings for the sitcom’s 90-minute farewell, which was the centrepiece of BBC One’s 2024 festive schedules, are 19.1 million.

This is the biggest audience for a Christmas Day broadcast on UK television since the episode of Only Fools & Horses on December 25 2001, which attracted 21.3 million viewers.

The figures have been published by the ratings organisation Barb and includes all people who recorded and watched the programme up to seven days later – the industry standard for measuring TV audiences.

It also includes those who watched on tablets, PCs and smartphones.

The brand new Wallace & Gromit adventure Vengeance Most Fowl, which was also shown on BBC One on Christmas Day 2024, was not far behind, pulling in 16.3 million viewers.

The figures mean Gavin & Stacey and Wallace & Gromit have become the top two most-watched scripted programmes of the decade so far, pushing Line of Duty – which attracted 15.8 million for its finale in 2021 – into third place.

The biggest TV audience of the 2020s remains the broadcast by former prime minister Boris Johnson on March 23 2020 announcing the first Covid-19 lockdown, which was shown simultaneously on six TV channels and drew an average audience of 28.3 million.

Barb’s official seven-day ratings for Christmas Day 2024 show that nine of the top 10 were broadcast on BBC One:

– Gavin & Stacey (BBC One, 9pm) 19.1 million
– Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (BBC One, 6.10pm) 16.3 million
– Call the Midwife (BBC One, 8pm) 7.6 million
– Doctor Who (BBC One, 5.10pm) 5.9 million
– The King (BBC One, 3pm) 5.7 million
– EastEnders (BBC One, 10.35pm) 5.6 million
– EastEnders (BBC One, 7.30pm) 5.5 million
– Strictly Come Dancing (BBC One, 3.55pm) 5.4 million
– Tiddler (BBC One, 2.35pm) 4.7 million
– Coronation Street (ITV, 7pm) 4.4 million