WALLACE AND GROMIT - WALLACE AND GROMIT 'MOST WATCHED ON CHRISTMAS DAY'

WALLACE AND GROMIT 'MOST WATCHED ON CHRISTMAS DAY'

Overnight figures suggest the new episode of Wallace and Gromit screened on BBC1 was the most-watched programme on Christmas Day.

A Matter Of Loaf and Death had a peak audience figure of 15.88 million people, a total share of more than 58 per cent of the viewing public.

In its screening slot between 20:30 and 21:00, the programme averaged a 53.3 per cent audience share with viewing numbers of 14.25 million.

The figures made good reading for the BBC, who also scored highly with its Doctor Who Christmas special episode The Next Doctor, which pulled in more than 50 per cent of viewers between 18:00 and 19:00 with 11.71 million.

An EastEnders double bill, with half-hour episodes screened either side of Wallace and Gromit at 20:00 and 21:00, brought in 9.89 million (40.6 per cent) and 11.47 million (44.9 per cent) viewers, respectively.

These figures meant the BBC's flagship soap outperformed its ITV1 rival Coronation Street, which was the commerical channel's top programme of the day with 7.36 million viewers (30 per cent) over the hour between 19:00 and 20:00.

And in a further coup for the corporation, the controversial Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special, which has been beset by voting problems, outperformed Coronation Street in the same hour, achieving 35 per cent of the audience (8.57 million).

The Queen's Speech at 15:00, ITV1's Dancing on Ice Christmas Special at 20:00 and BBC documentary Blackadder Rides Again all also performed well, according to the initial estimates.