List of most watched television broadcasts in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, viewing figures – the number of viewers or households watching a television programme – have been recorded by the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB) since 1981. Prior to the board's formation, figures were conducted by different means, such as the BBC financing its own audience research, while the ITV companies sub-contracted theirs.

Most watched special events

The majority of special events attracting large audiences are often carried on more than one channel. The most watched special event programme of all time on a single channel in the UK is the 1973 wedding ceremony of Princess Anne, shown only on BBC One.

Rank Event Average audience
(millions) 		Date Network(s)
1 1966 FIFA World Cup final: England v West Germany 32.30[1] 30 July 1966 BBC/ITV
2 Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales 32.10[2] 6 September 1997 BBC/ITV
3 Royal Family (documentary) 30.69[1] 21 June 1969 and 28 June 1969 BBC/ITV
4 UEFA Euro 2020 final: Italy v England 29.85[3] 11 July 2021 BBC/ITV
5 Apollo 13 Splashdown 28.60[4] 17 April 1970 BBC/ITV
6 1970 FA Cup final replay: Chelsea v Leeds United 28.49[4] 29 April 1970 BBC/ITV
7 Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer 28.40[5] 29 July 1981 BBC One/ITV
8 Wedding of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips 27.60[4] 14 November 1973 BBC One
9 Prime minister Boris Johnson's statement announcing a national lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic 27.10[6] 23 March 2020 BBC/ITV/Channel 4/Channel 5/Sky News/S4C
10 State funeral of Queen Elizabeth II 26.20[7][8] 19 September 2022 BBC/ITV/S4C/Sky News/Talk TV/GB News

Notes:

Most watched programmes

The following is a list of most watched programmes, excluding sporting events and news coverage. The mid-1980s introduction of in-week repeat showings accounts for six of the top ten programmes. On this measure, the 1996 Christmas edition of Only Fools and Horses is, not including figures for repeats, the most-watched non-documentary programme of all time so far in the United Kingdom. It is the third most-watched single-showing programme of all time so far on a single channel, behind the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony and the wedding of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips in 1973 (see below).

Key

   † Numbers with this background and symbol are italicised to denote aggregated figure with repeat showing.

Rank Programme Synopsis Viewers
(millions) 		Date Network Ref.
1 EastEnders Den Watts serves his wife Angie with divorce papers. 30.15 † 25 December 1986 BBC1 [14]
2 EastEnders The aftermath of Den Watts serving his wife Angie with divorce papers. 28.00 † 1 January 1987 BBC1 [15]
3 Coronation Street Hilda Ogden leaves Weatherfield. 26.65 † 25 December 1987 ITV (Granada) [15]
4 Live Aid 16-hour concert in Wembley Stadium and John F. Kennedy Stadium for Band Aid. 24.50 13 July 1985 BBC1 [16]
5 Only Fools and Horses "Time on Our Hands" 24.35 29 December 1996 BBC1 [17]
6 EastEnders Arthur and Pauline Fowler urge their son Mark to tell his sister Michelle that he has HIV. 24.30 † 2 January 1992 BBC1 [2]
7 Royal Variety Performance 1965 Featuring Dame Shirley Bassey, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, and more. 24.20 14 November 1965 ITV (ATV) [1]
8 EastEnders Angie Watts suffers a renal shutdown. 24.15 † 7 January 1988 BBC1 [18]
9 To the Manor Born Finale of the first series. 23.95 11 November 1979 BBC1 [4]
10 Miss World 1967 Madeline Hartog-Bel (Miss Peru) wins. 23.76 19 November 1967 BBC1 [1]
11 EastEnders The aftermath of Den Watts serving his wife Angie with divorce papers. 23.55 † 26 December 1986 BBC1 [19]
12 EastEnders It is revealed that Lisa Shaw shot Phil Mitchell. 23.18 † 5 April 2001 BBC1 [20]
13 Panorama Diana, Princess of Wales interview 22.78 20 November 1995 BBC1 [21]
14 Royal Variety Performance 1975 Performers include Bruce Forsyth, Dad's Army and Vera Lynn. 22.66 16 November 1975 ITV (ATV) [4]
15 This Is Your Life Lord Mountbatten 22.22 27 April 1977 ITV (Thames) [4]
16 Sunday Night at the London Palladium Presented by Jimmy Tarbuck. 21.89 3 December 1967 ITV (ATV) [1]
17 The Benny Hill Show "Cinema: The Vintage Years" 21.67 24 March 1971 ITV (Thames) [4]
18 Dallas "Who Done It" – Kristin Shepard is revealed to have shot J.R. Ewing. 21.60 22 November 1980 BBC1 [5]
Coronation Street Ken and Deirdre Barlow finalise their divorce. 21.60 8 January 1992 ITV (Granada) [2]
20 Eurovision Song Contest 1973 Staged in Luxembourg City – the UK was represented by Cliff Richard, and the contest was won by Anne-Marie David. 21.56 7 April 1973 BBC1 [4]

Most watched films

These are the most watched films by total number of viewers[22] (dates are when the films were broadcast, not necessarily when they were produced).

Rank Title Viewers
(millions) 		Date Network
1 Live and Let Die 23.50 20 January 1980 ITV
2 Jaws 23.25 8 October 1981 ITV
3 The Spy Who Loved Me 22.90 28 March 1982 ITV
4 Diamonds Are Forever 22.15 15 March 1981 ITV
5 Crocodile Dundee 21.75 25 December 1989 BBC1

Most watched broadcasts by year

This table details the most watched programmes on a single channel based on average viewing figures.

Year Programme Date Viewers
(millions)[a] 		Network
1963 News - Assassination of John F. Kennedy 22 November 1963 24.15[b]
1964 Steptoe and Son: "The Lodger" 18 February 1964 21.54[1] BBC
1965 Royal Variety Performance 1965 14 November 1965 24.20[1] ITV (ATV)
1966 1966 FIFA World Cup final: England v West Germany 30 July 1966 32.30[c]
1967 Miss World 1967 19 November 1967 23.76[1] BBC
1968 Apollo 8 Splashdown 27 December 1968 22.55[d]
1969 Royal Family (documentary) 21 June 1969 and 28 June 1969 30.69[e]
1970 Apollo 13 Splashdown 17 April 1970 28.60[f]
1971 Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier: Fight of the Century 8 March 1971 21.12[4] BBC[g]
1972 Eurovision Song Contest 1972 25 March 1972 N/A[h] BBC
1973 Wedding of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips 14 November 1973 27.60[4] BBC
1974 Love Thy Neighbour: "Eddie's Birthday" 7 April 1974 21.01[4] ITV (Thames)
1975 Royal Variety Performance 1975 16 November 1975 22.66[4] ITV (ATV)
1976 The Sweeney: "Sweet Smell of Succession" 8 November 1976 20.68[4] ITV
1977 This Is Your Life 27 April 1977 22.22[4] ITV (Thames)
1978 Sale of the Century 24 December 1978 21.15[4] ITV
1979 To the Manor Born: "A Touch of Class" 11 November 1979 23.95[4] BBC
1980 Film: Live and Let Die 20 January 1980 23.50[5] ITV
1981 Film: Jaws 8 October 1981 23.30[25] ITV
1982 Film: The Spy Who Loved Me 28 March 1982 22.90[26] ITV
1983 Coronation Street 23 February 1983 18.45[27] ITV
1984 Royal Variety Performance 1984 25 November 1984 20.55[28] BBC
1985 Live Aid 13 July 1985 24.50[16] BBC
1986 EastEnders 25 December 1986 30.15[14] BBC
1987 EastEnders 1 January 1987 28.00[15] BBC
1988 EastEnders 7 January 1988 24.15[18] BBC
1989 Film: Crocodile Dundee 25 December 1989 21.77[29] BBC
1990 Neighbours 26 February 1990 21.16[30] BBC
1991 Coronation Street 25 November 1991 20.45[31] ITV
1992 Coronation Street 22 January 1992 20.45[32] ITV
1993 Coronation Street 22 March 1993 20.73[33] ITV
1994 Torvill and Dean – Olympic Ice Dance Championship 21 February 1994 23.95[34] BBC
1995 Panorama: "An Interview with HRH The Princess of Wales" 20 November 1995 22.78[21] BBC
1996 Only Fools and Horses: "Time On Our Hands" 29 December 1996 24.35[17] BBC
1997 Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales 6 September 1997 19.29[35] BBC
1998 1998 FIFA World Cup: England v Argentina 30 June 1998 23.78[36] ITV
1999 Coronation Street 7 March 1999 19.82[37] ITV
2000 Coronation Street 3 January 2000 18.96[38] ITV
2001 Only Fools and Horses: "If They Could See Us Now" 25 December 2001 21.34[39] BBC
2002 Only Fools and Horses: "Strangers on the Shore" 25 December 2002 17.40[40] BBC
2003 Coronation Street 24 February 2003 19.43[41] ITV
2004 UEFA Euro 2004: England v Portugal 24 June 2004 20.66[42] BBC
2005 Coronation Street 21 February 2005 14.36[43] ITV
2006 2006 FIFA World Cup: England v Sweden 20 June 2006 18.46[44] ITV
2007 EastEnders 25 December 2007 14.38[45] BBC
2008 Film: A Matter of Loaf and Death 25 December 2008 16.15[46] BBC
2009 Britain's Got Talent: "Final" 30 May 2009 18.29[47] ITV
2010 The X Factor: "Final" 12 December 2010 16.55[48] ITV[i]
2011 Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton 29 April 2011 26.59[50] BBC[j]
2012 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony 12 August 2012 24.46[51] BBC
2013 New Year's Eve Fireworks 31 December 2013 13.53[52] BBC
2014 2014 FIFA World Cup final: Germany v Argentina 13 July 2014 14.96[53] BBC[k]
2015 The Great British Bake Off: "Final" 7 October 2015 15.05[54] BBC One
2016 The Great British Bake Off: "Royal Picnic" 26 October 2016 15.90[55] BBC One
2017 Blue Planet II: "One Ocean" 29 October 2017 14.01[56] BBC One
2018 2018 FIFA World Cup: Croatia v England 11 July 2018 20.73[57] ITV
2019 Gavin & Stacey: "2019 Christmas Special" 25 December 2019 17.92[58] BBC One
2020 Prime ministerial statement on COVID-19 10 May 2020 18.99[59] BBC One
2021 UEFA Euro 2020: England v Denmark 7 July 2021 18.40[60] ITV[l]
2022 2022 FIFA World Cup: England v France 10 December 2022 16.08[61] ITV
2023 Coronation of Charles III and Camilla 6 May 2023 12.03[62] BBC One [m]
2024 Gavin & Stacey: "The Finale" 25 December 2024 19.11[63] BBC One

Notes

  1. ^ Based on 7-day viewing figures.
  2. ^ BFI lists a combined audience of 24.15 million on the BBC and ITV, but not the channels' separate ratings figures.[1]
  3. ^ BFI lists a combined audience of 32.30 million on BBC One and ITV, but not the channels' separate ratings figures.[1]
  4. ^ BFI lists a combined audience of 22.55 million on BBC One and ITV, but not the channels' separate ratings figures.[1]
  5. ^ BFI lists a combined audience of 30.69 million on BBC One and ITV, but not the channels' separate ratings figures.[1]
  6. ^ BFI lists a combined audience of 28.60 million on BBC One and ITV, but not the channels' separate ratings figures.[4]
  7. ^ Unverified sources state that this figure was higher,[9] and that an audience of 26 million watched the Ali vs Foreman fight of 30 October 1974.[10] However these figures are not corroborated by the BFI.
  8. ^ Although there are no official figures for 1972, it is widely regarded that the year's edition of the Eurovision Song Contest was the most watched programme that year.[23][24]
  9. ^ The X Factor final 2010 (12 December 2010) had an additional 1.156 million viewers on its sister high definition channel ITV HD, in addition to the 16.553 million views on the main standard definition channel ITV, giving the programme an aggregate audience of 17.71 million viewers.[49]
  10. ^ The Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton (29 April 2011) "attracted a consolidated average audience of 26.0 [million] viewers across the ceremony from 11:00 am to 12:10 pm. This is an aggregated audience across 10 BARB reported channels that followed the events live."[11] The highest figures for individual channels of these were 13.59 million on BBC One, followed by 4.02 million watching on ITV.
  11. ^ The 2014 FIFA World Cup final was broadcast by both BBC One and ITV. The highest figures were 14.96 million on BBC One, followed by 2.34 million on ITV.
  12. ^ The Euro 2020 final between England and Italy was watched by an estimated 31 million across both BBC and ITV.
  13. ^ King Charles III's Coronation was broadcast by both BBC One, Two, ITV, and Sky. Peak figures on BBC One were 13.4 million. The average figures were 11.9 million on BBC One, followed by 3.3 million on ITV.

References

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  2. ^ a b c "Features | Britain's Most Watched TV | 1990s". British Film Institute (BFI). Archived from the original on 25 November 2005. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  3. ^ "Euro 2020 final: TV audience peaked at 31m as England lost on penalties". BBC News. 11 July 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Features | Britain's Most Watched TV | 1970s". British Film Institute (BFI). Archived from the original on 22 November 2005. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
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  6. ^ a b "PM's coronavirus address watched by 27.1m". BBC News. 24 March 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  7. ^ BARB [@barbtelevision] (20 September 2022). "The average audience for the Queen's funeral service at Westminster Abbey (11:00 – 12:06) was 26.2m across all channels. Reach was 29.2m, a share of 95%" (Tweet). Retrieved 20 September 2022 – via Twitter.
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  9. ^ a b Green, Timothy (1972). The Universal Eye: The World of Television. Stein and Day. p. 86. ISBN 9780812814248. The annual Miss World Contest, which is often the single most popular program of the year — attracting half the British population — is a natural for BBC 1; so was the Ali-Frazier fight, which was watched by 27.5 million people.
  10. ^ a b "Daily Mirror". Longman Asia. 1 November 1974. ISBN 9789623599856. 'Ali is so tired he cannot raise his hands.' The next moment Ali raised his fists and Foreman was knocked out. The 26 million who saw the same fight with the same commentary on BBC-1...did not hear that line. 'Yes, we cut it out,' said a BBC man last night, 'to spare Harry Carpenter's blushes.'
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