Doctor Who overnight ratings revealed for Christmas special Joy to the World

It must be noted that this is not the full story as it doesn't include viewers who will be watching on catch-up. This number is expected to rise when the seven-day consolidated viewing figures come in.

Doctor Who's latest festive adventure followed the Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and guest companion Joy (Nicola Coughlan) to the Time Hotel as they attempted to stop the villainous Villengard from growing a star and destroying humanity in the process.

The episode also saw the Doctor coming to terms with the departure of his companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) and fans were treated to a trailer of what's to come in the next season of the sci-fi series as Gatwa returns to the role.

The big winner of Christmas Day 2024, though, was the Gavin and Stacey finale, with overnight figures of 12.3 million. The James Corden and Ruth Jones comedy made a long-awaited return to BBC One, airing at 9pm.

The new Wallace and Gromit film, Vengeance Most Fowl, brought in 9.38 million viewers, while the King's Christmas message secured 6.81 million.

Call the Midwife and EastEnders were the next most-watched programmes, with overnight figures of 4.42 million and 4.39 million respectively.

The top 10 programmes on Christmas Day (according to BARB figures) can be viewed below:

1. Gavin & Stacey - 12.32m

2. Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl - 9.38m

3. The King (across BBC and ITV) - 6.81m

4. Call The Midwife - 4.42m

5. EastEnders - 4.39m

6. Doctor Who - 4.11m

7. Strictly Come Dancing - 4.05m

8. EastEnders - 3.98m

9. Tiddler - 3.23m

10. The Weakest Link - 3.05m

Doctor Who: Joy to the World is available to watch on BBC iPlayer. Doctor Who will also return in 2025 to BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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