The ‘Gavin and Stacey’ special achieved the highest Christmas Day ratings in more than a decade.
The return of the much-hyped sitcom – which stars James Corden and Ruth Jones – was watched by an average of 11.6 million viewers on BBC One, meaning that around half of all TV viewers at the time tuned in to watch the programme.
The next most-watched programme was the ‘Queen’s Christmas Broadcast’, which was watched by 7.85 million people.
The ‘Queen’s Christmas Broadcast’ has dominated the ratings over recent years, but viewers were evidently more excited by the return of the acclaimed comedy show.
The top five of the ratings were rounded out by ‘Strictly Come Dancing’, ‘EastEnders’ and ‘Michael McIntyre’s Big Show’, all of which were broadcast on BBC One.
Charlotte Moore, Director of BBC content, reflected: "We delivered something for everyone with the seven most-popular programmes that cap off an incredible year for BBC One celebrating British talent and creativity."
Meanwhile, James Corden recently revealed that he and Ruth Jones thought ‘Gavin and Stacey’ was "dead" – until they saved it with "the best scene".
The TV star – who co-writes the show with Ruth – shared: "There was a very real moment where we had written maybe 40 pages.
"We recorded it just to see how long it was and we both knew probably halfway through, but we soldiered on.
"And we both finished, and Ruth went, ‘What do you think?’
"And I said, ‘We haven’t got it. It just doesn’t feel like ‘Gavin & Stacey.’
"We decided, ‘OK, well, thank goodness we didn’t tell anyone. Thank the Lord we didn’t. We’ve scratched this itch that we thought was there, and it isn’t, so no harm done. No one will ever know.’
"It’s probably the quickest scene we’ve ever written. And I think it’s the best scene ‘Gavin & Stacey’ has ever had.
"Suddenly this scene arrived, I can’t tell you, I sound like Mystic Meg, but it landed in the room."
Gavin and Stacey tops Christmas TV ratings
