Gavin and Stacey The Finale wins Christmas Day overnight ratings in 2024
The BBC’s cracking line-up dominated the ratings with ten out of ten of the most watched shows of the day.
Christmas Day on the BBC brought people together in their millions and saw Gavin and Stacey triumph. Ruth Jones and James Corden created a magical finale that fans will treasure forever. Their exquisitely written comedy creation is a show all about family, love and joy and it proved to be the unmissable TV event of the year.
— Charlotte Moore, BBC Chief Content Officer
The last ever episode of the hit British sitcom took the top spot and was watched by a staggering 12.3 million viewers, beating their last Christmas special five years ago and making it the biggest Christmas Day overnight since 2008.
The BBC’s cracking line-up dominated the ratings with ten out of ten of the most watched shows of the day, for the first time ever, capping off an amazing year for the BBC.
The most hotly anticipated programmes of the year triumphed as the Wallace and Gromit new feature length film Vengeance Most Fowl came in second with a huge 9.4 million.
The BBC took control of the TV set on the day - it was BBC One’s biggest share on Christmas Day since 2007. BBC One was bigger than all of SVOD combined on the TV screen, nearly double the size overall and also bigger for 16-34s. BBC One was three times the size of both Netflix & YouTube (individually), and over double the size of each for 16-34. The BBC as a whole made up over half of the viewing to the broadcaster market for 16-34s. BBC iPlayer on its own was bigger than Netflix, both overall and for 16-34s.
Charlotte Moore, BBC’s Chief Content Officer says: “Christmas Day on the BBC brought people together in their millions and saw Gavin and Stacey triumph. Ruth Jones and James Corden created a magical finale that fans will treasure forever. Their exquisitely written comedy creation is a show all about family, love and joy and it proved to be the unmissable TV event of the year. I’m very proud that the line-up across the day was a showcase for the very best in British storytelling, and caps off an exceptional 2024 for the BBC with increased market share against the competition both local and global.”
10 of the top 10 overnights on Christmas Day 2024
| Programme Title | Channel | Millions |
|---|---|---|
| Gavin & Stacey | BBC One | 12.32 |
| Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl | BBC One | 9.38 |
| The King | BBC One | 5.04 |
| Call the Midwife | BBC One | 4.42 |
| EastEnders - Part 2 | BBC One | 4.39 |
| Doctor Who | BBC One | 4.11 |
| Strictly Come Dancing | BBC One | 4.05 |
| EastEnders - Part 1 | BBC One | 3.98 |
| Tiddler | BBC One | 3.23 |
| The Weakest Link | BBC One | 3.05 |
