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 programme of all time on a single channel is the 1973 wedding ceremony of The Princess Anne, shown only on BBC1.

Rank Event Viewers
(millions)
Date Network(s)
11966 FIFA World Cup Final: England v West Germany32.30[1]30 July 1966BBC One/ITV
2Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales32.10[2]6 September 1997BBC One/ITV
3Royal Family (documentary)30.69[1]21 June 1969 and 28 June 1969BBC One/ITV
4Apollo 13 Splashdown28.60[3]17 April 1970BBC One/ITV
51970 FA Cup Final replay28.49[3]29 April 1970BBC One/ITV
6Wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer28.40[4]29 July 1981BBC One/ITV
7Wedding of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips27.60[3]14 November 1973BBC One
8Prime Minister Boris Johnson's statement on COVID-1927.1[5]23 March 2020BBC One/ITV/Channel 4/Channel 5/Sky News/BBC News
92012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony24.46[6]12 August 2012BBC One
102012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony24.24[6]27 July 2012BBC One

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 wife Angie with divorce papers. 30.15 25 December 1986BBC One [12]
2 EastEnders The aftermath of Den's divorce to Angie. 28.00 1 January 1987BBC One [13]
3 Coronation Street Hilda Ogden leaves Weatherfield. 26.65 25 December 1987ITV (Granada) [13]
4 Live Aid 16-hour concert in Wembley Stadium and John F. Kennedy Stadium for Band Aid. 24.50 13 July 1985 BBC One [14]
5 Only Fools and Horses "Time on Our Hands"24.3529 December 1996BBC One [15]
6 EastEnders Arthur and Pauline Fowler urge their son Mark to tell his sister Michelle that he has HIV. 24.30 2 January 1992BBC One [2]
7 Royal Variety Performance 1965 Featuring Dame Shirley Bassey, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, and more.24.2014 November 1965ITV (ATV) [1]
8 EastEnders Angie suffers a renal shutdown. 24.15 7 January 1988BBC One [16]
9 To the Manor Born Finale of the first series.23.9511 November 1979BBC One [3]
10 Miss World 1967 Madeline Hartog-Bel (Miss Peru) wins.23.7619 November 1967BBC One [1]
11 EastEnders The aftermath of Den's divorce to Angie 23.55 26 December 1985BBC One [17]
12 Panorama Diana, Princess of Wales interview22.7820 November 1995BBC One [18]
13 Royal Variety Performance 1975 Performers include Bruce Forsyth, Dad's Army and Vera Lynn.22.6616 November 1975ITV (ATV) [3]
14 This Is Your Life Lord Mountbatten22.2227 April 1977ITV (Thames) [3]
15 Sunday Night at the London Palladium Presented by Jimmy Tarbuck.21.893 December 1967ITV (ATV) [1]
16 The Benny Hill Show "Cinema: The Vintage Years"21.6724 March 1971ITV (Thames) [3]
17 Dallas "Who Done It" – Kristin Shepard is revealed to have shot J.R. Ewing.21.6022 November 1980BBC One [4]
Coronation Street Ken and Deirdre Barlow finalise their divorce.21.608 January 1992ITV (Granada) [2]
18 Eurovision Song Contest 1973 Staged in Luxembourg - won by Anne-Marie David.21.567 April 1973BBC One [3]
19 Steptoe and Son "The Lodger" – Albert looks for a lodger.21.5418 February 1964BBC TV [1]
20 The Mike Yarwood Show "Mike Yarwood Christmas Show"21.4025 December 1977BBC One [3]

Most watched films

These are the most watched films by total number of viewers[19] (dates are when the films were broadcast, not necessarily when they were produced).

Rank Title Viewers
(millions)
Date Network
1Live and Let Die23.5020 January 1980ITV
2Jaws23.258 October 1981ITV
3The Spy Who Loved Me22.9028 March 1982ITV
4Diamonds Are Forever22.1515 March 1981ITV
5Crocodile Dundee21.7525 December 1989BBC1

Most watched broadcasts by year

Year Programme Date Viewers
(millions)[lower-alpha 1]
Network
1970 Apollo 13 Splashdown 17 April 1970 28.60[3] BBC One / ITV
1971 Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier: Fight of the Century 8 March 1971 21.12[3] BBC One[lower-alpha 2]
1972 The Eurovision Song Contest 1972 25 March 1972 N/A[lower-alpha 3] BBC One
1973 Wedding of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips 14 November 1973 27.60[3] BBC One
1974 Love Thy Neighbour 7 April 1974 21.01[3] ITV (Thames)
1975 Royal Variety Performance 1975 16 November 1975 22.66[3] ITV (ATV)
1976 The Sweeney 8 November 1976 20.68[3] ITV
1977 This Is Your Life 27 April 1977 22.22[3] ITV (Thames)
1978 Sale of the Century 24 December 1978 21.15[3] ITV
1979 To the Manor Born 11 November 1979 23.95[3] BBC One
1980 Film: Live and Let Die 20 January 1980 23.50[4] ITV
1981Film: Jaws8 October 198123.30[22]ITV
1982Film: The Spy Who Loved Me28 March 198222.90[23]ITV
1983Coronation Street23 February 198318.45[24]ITV
1984Royal Variety Performance 198425 November 198420.55[25]BBC One
1985Live Aid13 July 198524.50[14]BBC One
1986EastEnders25 December 198630.15[12]BBC One
1987EastEnders1 January 198728.00[13]BBC One
1988EastEnders7 January 198824.15[16]BBC One
1989Film: Crocodile Dundee25 December 198921.77[26]BBC One
1990Neighbours26 February 199021.16[27]BBC One
1991Coronation Street25 November 199120.45[28]ITV
1992Coronation Street22 January 199220.45[29]ITV
1993Coronation Street22 March 199320.73[30]ITV
1994Torvill and Dean – Olympic Ice Dance Championship21 February 199423.95[31]BBC One
1995Panorama Special: Princess Diana20 November 199522.78[18]BBC One
1996Only Fools and Horses29 December 199624.35[15]BBC One
1997Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales6 September 199719.29[32]BBC One
19981998 FIFA World Cup: England v Argentina30 June 199823.78[33]ITV
1999Coronation Street7 March 199919.82[34]ITV
2000Coronation Street3 January 200018.96[35]ITV
2001Only Fools and Horses25 December 200121.35[36]BBC One[lower-alpha 4]
2002Only Fools and Horses25 December 200217.40[38]BBC One
2003Coronation Street24 February 200319.43[39]ITV
2004UEFA Euro 2004: England v Portugal24 June 200420.66[40]BBC One
2005Coronation Street21 February 200514.36[41]ITV
20062006 FIFA World Cup: England v Sweden20 June 200618.46[42]ITV
2007EastEnders25 December 200714.38[43]BBC One
2008Film: A Matter of Loaf and Death25 December 200816.15[44]BBC One
2009Britain's Got Talent30 May 200918.29[45]ITV
2010The X Factor12 December 201016.55[46]ITV[lower-alpha 5]
2011Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton29 April 201113.59[48]BBC One[lower-alpha 6]
20122012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony12 August 201224.46[50]BBC One
2013New Year's Eve Fireworks31 December 201313.53[51]BBC One
20142014 FIFA World Cup Final: Germany v Argentina13 July 201414.96[52]BBC One[lower-alpha 7]
2015The Great British Bake Off7 October 201515.05[53]BBC One
2016The Great British Bake Off26 October 201615.90[54]BBC One
2017Blue Planet II29 October 201714.01[55]BBC One
20182018 FIFA World Cup: Croatia v England11 July 201820.73[56]ITV
2019Gavin & Stacey25 December 201917.92[57]BBC One
2020Prime Ministerial Statement on COVID-1910 May 202018.16[58]BBC One
2021Prime Ministerial Statement on COVID-194 January 202114.33[58]BBC One

Notes

  1. Based on 7-day viewing figures.
  2. Unverified sources state that this figure was higher,[7] and that an audience of 26 million watched the Ali vs Foreman fight of 30 October 1974.[8] However these figures are not corroborated by the BFI.
  3. 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.[20][21]
  4. EastEnders received 20.05 million viewers on 5 April with the additional omnibus viewers taking the total viewing figures to 23.18 million. [37]
  5. 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.[47]
  6. 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."[49] The highest figures for individual channels of these were 13.59 million on BBC One, followed by 4.02 million watching on ITV.
  7. 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.

References

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  4. "Features | Britain's Most Watched TV | 1980s". British Film Institute (BFI). Archived from the original on 22 November 2005. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  5. "PM's coronavirus address watched by 27.1m". BBC News. 24 March 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  6. "Weekly top 30 programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  7. 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.
  8. "Daily Mirror". Daily Mirror. 1 November 1974. '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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  14. "Moments in TV History". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. 19 November 2013.
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