ITV Coronation Street drops out of top 10 most watched Christmas Day TV shows for first time in decades
26.12.2023 - 16:35
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Coronation Street missed out on a spot in the top 10 most watched Christmas Day programmes this year, according to the latest TV ratings. It is the first time in several decades that the ITV soap has failed to feature in the top 10 Christmas Day TV shows.
Around 2.6 million viewers tuned into the festive episode of thesoap at 7pm on December 25, with its storyline centered around the exit of one of its long-running characters, Peter Barlow, played by Chris Gascoyne. Monday night's programme saw Carla Connor buy Peter a boarding pass as Christmas gift.
Upon receiving the boarding pass, a confused Peter said: "A plane ticket? One way?" to which Carla explained: "It's to join your mate's crew!". Peter then asked where Carla's boarding pass was to which she admitted: "It's a present for you... I'm not coming, love."
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Despite the emotional episode, Coronation Street's viewing figures were down from nearly 8 million around a decade ago, and 2.8 million last year. Emmerdale also dropped out of the ratings for the second year in a row, attracting 1.92m viewers.
The King’s Christmas Day message to the nation and Strictly Come Dancing led the festive TV ratings this year. An average of 5.9 million viewers watched on BBC One as Charles reflected on the “increasingly tragic conflict around the world”.
The Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special came second in the ratings, with around 5.3 million viewers watching EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick and professional dance partner Nancy Xu lift the Silver Star trophy.
The BBC “dominated the ratings with nine out of the top