King Charles’s Christmas broadcast came top of the TV ratings on Christmas Day, with the BBC showing nine out of the 10 most watched shows.
The king’s message, which reflected on the “increasingly tragic conflict around the world”, attracted an average of 5.9 million viewers, according to overnight ratings.
Amid the war in Ukraine and the conflict between Israel and Gaza, King Charles suggested one of the central tenets of Christianity – treating all as you want to be treated – was more apt than ever and emphasised universal values.
Strictly Come Dancing came second in the ratings, with about 5.3 million viewers watching EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick and professional dance partner Nancy Xu lift the Silver Star trophy during the Christmas special on BBC One.
Doctor Who’s Christmas Day special – the show’s first since 2017 – claimed third place, with 4.7 million viewers tuning in to watch Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa make his first full appearance as the 15th Time Lord.
The BBC “dominated the ratings with nine out of the top 10 most watched shows on Christmas Day”, the broadcaster said. The figures are based on overnight ratings and do not include those who watch shows on catch-up services.
Charlotte Moore, the BBC’s chief content officer, said: “Bringing people together at Christmas matters to audiences and securing nine of the top 10 shows demonstrates how much they value the BBC’s Christmas Day line-up.
“We entertained viewers in their millions on Christmas Day with a range of quality programmes you really can’t find anywhere else to wrap up an outstanding year of creative content on the BBC.”
But both the King’s speech and Strictly drew fewer viewers than last year. Charles’s first pre-recorded address on Christmas 2022, which reflected on the death of the late Queen, had an average of 8.1 million viewers on BBC One, according to the broadcaster.
The broadcast was the most watched Christmas TV address by a monarch on record, with a record 10.6 million viewers watching Charles’s broadcast on BBC One, BBC Two and ITV, making it the most watched programme on Christmas Day. It was also the most popular Christmas Day broadcast by a monarch in the past two decades. .
On the same day, an average audience of 5.4 million viewers saw actress Alexandra Mardell and professional partner Kai Widdrington crowned the Strictly winners.
Other most viewed shows this year included the finale of comedy series Ghosts, which follows a young couple who inherit an abandoned country house inhabited by a group of spirits, and Christmas staple Call the Midwife – each had an average of 4.4 million viewers on BBC One.
Game show Michael McIntyre’s Christmas Wheel had an audience of 4.2 million and came sixth ahead of the long-awaited conclusion of a time jump on EastEnders.
An average of 3.6 million viewers for the BBC One soap found out who was the killer and seemingly deceased character who was teased back in February.
On Monday’s episode, Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) appeared to die after being stabbed by Linda Carter (Kellie Bright), who was trying to protect Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean).
An average of 3.5 million viewers watched Toy Story 4 on BBC One and Tabby McTat was viewed by 3.3 million.
ITV overnight ratings showed Lee Mack-presented game show The 1% Club Christmas Special as its most popular programme with 3.4 million viewers.
Its soaps failed to make the Top 10 with Coronation Street on 2.6 million and Emmerdale on 1.9 million.
PA Media contributed to this report