Call the Midwife named BEST show of Christmas Day 2018 – but Michael McIntyre is most watched

ITV biopic Torvill and Dean was voted readers' second favourite show of Christmas Day 2018.

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However, according to overnight viewing figures, Michael McIntyre was the surprise king of Christmas Day: his Big Christmas Show was the most watched single programme of the day.

WARNING: Embargoed for publication until 00:00:01 on 11/12/2018 - Programme Name: Michael McIntyre's Big Christmas Show 2018 - TX: n/a - Episode: Michael McIntyre's Big Christmas Show - Episodics (No. n/a) - Picture Shows: Audience hit, Michelin Mum *STRICTLY NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNTIL 00:01HRS, TUESDAY 11TH DECEMBER, 2018* Michael McIntyre, Margaret - (C) Hungry McBear - Photographer: Gary Moyes

The BBC1 entertainment show beat regular ratings winners including Mrs Brown's Boys and Strictly Come Dancing, with 6.1 million viewers tuning in to McIntyre's festive comedy.

Strictly Come Dancing's Christmas special was watched by 5.8 million viewers, while 5.5 million tuned in to watch the Call the Midwife special.

When audiences across BBC1, ITV, Sky 1 and Sky News are combined however, the Queen's Christmas message becomes the most watched show of Christmas Day, with 6.4 million people overall tuning in to the traditional royal broadcast.

Nine of the top ten most watched programmes on Christmas Day aired on the BBC. Coronation Street drew in ITV's biggest audience with 4.6 million viewers.

The best TV shows of Christmas Day 2018 (RadioTimes.com poll)

Call the Midwife (31.65%)
Torvill & Dean (12.41%)
Upstart Crow (9.37%)
EastEnders (9.11%)
Mrs Brown’s Boys (6.58%)

When RadioTimes.com asked viewers to vote for their favourite show of Christmas Day, ITV shot up the rankings, with biopic Torvill and Dean pulling in 12.4 per cent of the overall vote.

The drama came behind festive staple Call the Midwife, which earned 31.7 per cent of the total vote, but ahead of BBC shows including Mrs Brown's Boys, EastEnders and breakout BBC2 comedy Upstart Crow.

Overall Christmas Day viewing figures are down compared to 2017, as communal festive viewing of broadcast TV continues to decline. 7.6 million viewers watched the Queen last year, while Mrs Brown's Boys is over two million viewers down on its 2017 audiences of 6.8 million.

No programme has attracted more than 20 million viewers since 2001.