Viewership peaked during a devastating penalty shoot-out.
The gripping Euro 2020 final between England and Italy has become the third most-watched television event in UK history, reaching an incredible peak of 31 million viewers.
The game started strongly for the Three Lions, with a goal from Luke Shaw providing an early lead just two minutes into the match, but a second half equaliser for Italy took the game to extra time and ultimately penalties.
It was during those suspenseful shoot-outs that viewership rose to its highest point, as England's brightest stars braved unimaginable pressure in a heartbreaking last bid to bring it home.
The average figure for the entire match was 29.85 million, making it the third largest television audience after the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997 and England's World Cup win in 1966.
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England v Italy has already beaten the London 2012 Opening Ceremony (27m) and Boris Johnson's lockdown announcement (28m), but the total viewership for the game could rise even further over the next week as catch-up service numbers are added.
The majority of fans in the UK chose to watch the game on BBC One instead of ITV, with a mammoth 82 per cent of the available television audience at the time being scooped up by the two broadcasters.
The Euro 2020 final also came out well above major games from years past, including 1990's World Cup semi-final between West Germany and England (25.2m) as well as 2018's loss against Croatia (24.3m).
The game ended in disappointment for England fans after Marcus Rashford's attempt his the post, while shots from Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were saved by Italian keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Check out more of our Sport coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight.
David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.
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