BBC suffers 'worst Christmas Day TV ratings ever' as viewers turn their backs on corporation's festive offerings
Viewing figures were almost two thirds lower at their peak this December 25, with almost 4.6 million people tuning in to watch King Charles III's annual Christmas message.
By ELIZABETH HAIGH, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER
Published: 13:11 GMT, 27 December 2025 | Updated: 13:33 GMT, 27 December 2025
The BBC suffered some of its worst Christmas Day TV ratings in modern times this year, as viewers turn their backs on its traditional festive offerings.
Viewing figures were almost two thirds lower at their peak this December 25, with almost 4.6 million people tuning in to watch King Charles III's annual Christmas message.
This marked a near eight million fewer viewers than those who huddled round the television set for the corporation's long-awaited Gavin and Stacey special in 2024.
While 12.5 million watched the Christmas reunion, ten million also sat down for the corporation's showing of Wallace & Gromit on the same day, and both exceeded 20 million when views on catch-up were added.
But while the BBC still dominated the most-watched list this year, its ratings were down across the board in a worrying sign for bosses following another year of scandals.
Familiar favourites such as Eastenders and Call The Midwife saw their viewers drop compared with 2024, suggesting a steady decline in the number of Brits switching on the box this Christmas.
None of the top ten shows came close to last year's successes, with second-placed The Scarecrow's Wedding getting 4.3 million views and Strictly Come Dancing at third with 4.2 million.
Call the Midwife came in at fourth with 3.4 million watches, while first-time entry Amandaland beat out the residents of Albert Square for seventh place with three million.
The Christmas special of Strictly Come Dancing marked the final time Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly hosted the show, and pulled in 4.2 million viewers on Christmas Day
First-time entry to the Christmas Day schedule Amandaland pulled in three million viewers - in 2024
The corporation did still occupy nine of the top ten spots for the most-watched festive television shows, with even its weather forecast trumping ITV's best-viewed programme, The 1% Club.
But its results are being described as the BBC's worst ever festive performance, previously attributed to its 2006 outing, which saw its viewer share drop to just 30 percent.