King’s speech tops UK Christmas 2025 ratings

The royal address was watched across various channels – including BBC, ITV, Sky News and GB News.

The Scarecrows’ Wedding was the most popular show on a single channel on Christmas Day with 4.3 million viewers tuning into BBC One to watch the animated adaptation of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s picture book.

It was just ahead of the 4.2 million who tuned in to watch Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman host Strictly Come Dancing for the last time.

Meanwhile, the top five in the day's ratings were rounded out by two more BBC shows:  Michael McIntyre's The Wheel (3.7m) and the Call the Midwife Christmas Special (3.4m).

In total, the BBC had nine shows in the top 10 most popular programmes on Christmas Day, with only The 1% Club making the list for ITV in ninth place.

All figures are based on "overnight" TV ratings, which do not include viewers who watch Christmas specials on catch-up services during the rest of the festive period.

However, overall ratings were down significantly this year after an impressive year for Christmas TV in 2024, when the Gavin & Stacey special (12.3 million) and Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (9.4 million) drew in big numbers for the BBC.

Kate Phillips, BBC’s Chief Content Officer, said: “We’re proud of the fact that people come together on the BBC at Christmas. Having nine out of the top ten shows on Christmas Day is a timely reminder that shared moments really do still matter even in a world of so much choice.”