New figures reveal Call the Midwife topped hit comedy
Call The Midwife has won the Christmas Day ratings battle for the second year in a row, with an audience of 9.6 million people tuning in.
The BBC1 drama’s festive episode saw Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter) embroiled in a harrowing story line about historical child abuse.
According to the BBC, the drama beat the likes of Mrs Brown’s Boys, which claimed the second position again after last year.
The foul-mouthed matriarch was the ratings winner alongside the Queen’s Speech in overnight figures released on Boxing Day, but consolidated ratings show its final viewing figure comes in at nine million.
Call The Midwife creator, Heidi Thomas, said: “We never take the loyalty of our fantastic audience for granted, and it’s just wonderful to see how many people enjoyed the Christmas Special this year.”
Its executive producer, Pippa Harris, added: “It’s so heartening to know that Call The Midwife has become such a staple of Christmas Day viewing with audiences in the UK. We are thrilled that so many fans tuned in to see another of Heidi Thomas’s incredible scripts brought to life, and look forward to them all enjoying series seven in a few weeks’ time.”
Consolidated ratings are the final viewing figure after seven days which incorporates those who watched live and those who viewed a show on catch up (+1).
The Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special waltzed comfortably into the third position, with 8.3 million people tuning in to watch Katie Derham crowned winner. This figure is more than a half million viewers down from last year’s Strictly Christmas Special, which had a consolidated viewing figure of 8.9 million.
There was a double dose of drama in the soaps, which saw EastEnders trump its ITV rival Coronation Street in the consolidated figures.
The BBC 1 soap lands in fourth position with 8.1 million, while ITV’s Corrie drew an audience of seven million.
The figures are a reversal in ratings fortunes for the soaps, with Coronation Street dropping down from last year’s consolidated rating of 8.1 million, while EastEnders has risen from 7.8 million.
Sandwiched comfortably between the two in fifth position was another of the BBC’s much-anticipated seasonal spectaculars: Doctor Who.
A total of 7.9 million people watched as the sci-fi series gave fans a first glimpse of the new female Doctor, Jodie Whittaker.
The episode was the swansong for the 12th incarnation of the character, played by Peter Capaldi, as well as the show’s previous boss, Steven Moffat.
