Midwife delivers Christmas hit for BBC - but fewer than ever tune in

BBC ONE'S Christmas Day drama, Call The Midwife, won this year's festive ratings battle, with more than nine million people tuning in.
By The Newsroom
Published 3rd Jan 2017, 15:07 BST
Updated 9th Jan 2017, 13:13 BST
The cast of the Call The Midwife Christmas specialThe cast of the Call The Midwife Christmas special
The cast of the Call The Midwife Christmas special

The channel aired eight of the top 10 programmes on Christmas Day, consolidated ratings show.

But the figures are the lowest since the current system began, failing to match the 10.9m drawn to the final episode of Downton Abbey last year or the 16.2m who watched the Wallace And Gromit animation, A Matter Of Loaf And Death, in 2008.

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This year, 9.2m saw the nuns and nurses of Nonnatus House travel to South Africa to try to prevent a hospital from closing down.

Heidi Thomas, creator and writer of the show, said: “We are always so proud to be part of BBC One’s Christmas Day schedule, and delighted that so many people joined us on this year’s journey to South Africa.”

The Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas special came a close second in the ratings, with 8.98m tuning in, and 8.94m people watched Len Goodman’s farewell on the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special, while 8.21m saw The Great Christmas Bake Off.

Coronation Street, ITV’s flagship soap, pulled in 8.1 million and Emmerdale drew 6.2 million.

The other broadcasts in the top 10 were Doctor Who, EastEnders, The Queen’s Christmas Message and the Disney film Frozen.

Related topics:BBCBBC OneSouth AfricaITV