The annual Christmas address by Her Majesty the Queen has beaten all other programming on British television to become the most watched on Christmas day, with 7.82 million viewers.
Her Majesty’s message of reconciliation after conflict and suffering proved more popular than Christmas day 2013 top-viewed comedic drag act Mrs. Brown’s Boys, which dropped by nearly two million viewers this year, reports the Daily Telegraph.
The weight of tradition may have been on the Queen’s side as she bucked the trend for falling viewing figures for all other programmes contending for the Christmas day ratings war. While other programmes are increasingly watched on digital on-demand, 90,000 more tuned in to the broadcast of the Queen this year than last.
Behind Mrs. Brown’s Boys came light-hearted look at British working-class life, the Christmas special of long-running soap-opera East Enders, which enjoyed seven and a half million viewers. Another winner included light-entertainment dance programme Strictly Come Dancing, fronted by highly regarded variety performer Bruce Forsyth CBE.
As well as new television programmes with a historic twist such as retro poverty-drama Call the Midwife and ITV’s country-house drama Downton Abbey, re-runs also proved popular. Of the repeats, the Morecambe and Wise Christmas Special proved most popular, with wartime sitcom Dad’s Army coming in second place.
Although interest in television on Christmas day appears to be waning, many turned to the internet to discuss the day’s events. Her Majesty the Queen was a winner online too, taking twitter by storm as young monarchists reacted with excitement to her reference to HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones. The excitement around the pop-culture reference even led one online news source to ask whether the Queen had “won the internet” in doing so.
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