Just sneaking in as the last programme of the year, BBC One’s annual broadcast of the New Year’s Eve Fireworks display over the River Thames was one of December’s most popular shows.
The whole thing may have only lasted 15 minutes, but that didn’t deter 11.5 million people from choosing to see in the New Year watching the spectacular display.
December also played host to the final ever episode of Downton Abbey, as the lives and loves of the masters and servants saw their various stories come to an end.
Bowing out with an audience of 10.5 million, the drama was also the most-watched programme on Christmas Day.
The bar was set very low this year with some of its contestants, but the grand finale of I’m A Celebrity – Get Me Out Of Here! still raked in viewers.
The battle between former Geordie Shore star Vicky Pattinson and Union J singer George Shelley saw the reality TV ‘personality’ come out on top, and was watched by an average audience of 10.6 million people.
Period dramas are pretty much considered catnip for viewers, with the works of Charles Dickens regularly plundered to fill airtime on both ITV and BBC over the last few decades – and with great success.
Dickensian, however, took the unusual step of combining practically all of Mr Dickens’ novels into some sort of quasi soap opera – although not that surprisingly seeing as the show was co-created by Tony Jordan (a long term writer on EastEnders).
It was the first of the two episodes broadcast on Boxing Day that proved to be the most popular, watched by 6.5 million viewers.
Meanwhile, BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing took top honours as the most watched programme this month, as the celebrity ballroom dancing competition drew to a close.
12.5 million people saw singer Jay McGuinness beat Eastenders star Kellie Bright and ex-Coronation Street star Georgia May Foote to grab the coveted crown.
In addition to Downton, a raft of other seasonal specials also dominated the December chart, including: Call The Midwife (9.3 million); Luther (6.7 million); Mrs Brown’s Boys (9.5 million); and Doctor Who (7.7 million).
Top Programmes (excluding soaps):
| Sorting | Programme | On Air Date | Genre | Station | Start / End | Viewers (m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | STRICTLY COME DANCING: THE RESULTS | Saturday 19 December 2015 | Light Entertainment | BBC1 | 21:00-22:09 | 12.47 |
| 2 | STRICTLY COME DANCING | Saturday 19 December 2015 | Light Entertainment | BBC1 | 18:35-19:58 | 12.23 |
| 3 | NEW YEAR’S EVE FIREWORKS | Thursday 31 December 2015 | Light Entertainment | BBC1 | 23:59-00:13 | 11.48 |
| 4 | I’M A CELEBRITY – GET ME OUT OF HERE! | Sunday 6 December 2015 | Factual | ITV | 21:02-22:32 | 10.62 |
| 5 | DOWNTON ABBEY (SERIES 6) | Friday 25 December 2015 | Drama | ITV | 20:46-22:45 | 10.49 |
| 6 | MRS BROWN’S BOYS | Friday 25 December 2015 | Comedy | BBC1 | 21:47-22:24 | 9.49 |
| 7 | CALL THE MIDWIFE | Friday 25 December 2015 | Drama | BBC1 | 19:31-20:45 | 9.30 |
| 8 | STICK MAN | Friday 25 December 2015 | Childrens | BBC1 | 16:48-17:15 | 9.28 |
| 9 | THE X FACTOR RESULTS (SERIES 12) | Sunday 13 December 2015 | Light Entertainment | ITV | 20:02-22:03 | 8.83 |
| 10 | AND THEN THERE WERE NONE | Saturday 26 December 2015 | Drama | BBC1 | 21:03-21:59 | 8.61 |
| 11 | DOCTOR WHO | Friday 25 December 2015 | Drama | BBC1 | 17:17-18:13 | 7.69 |
| 12 | THE X FACTOR (SERIES 12) | Saturday 5 December 2015 | Light Entertainment | ITV | 19:59-21:30 | 7.40 |
| 13 | THE APPRENTICE | Wednesday 16 December 2015 | Factual | BBC1 | 20:59-21:58 | 7.39 |
| 14 | COUNTRYFILE | Sunday 13 December 2015 | Factual | BBC1 | 18:18-19:17 | 7.32 |
| 15 | BBC NEWS | Saturday 19 December 2015 | News | BBC1 | 22:11-22:27 | 6.90 |
| 16 | LUTHER | Tuesday 15 December 2015 | Drama | BBC1 | 21:00-21:59 | 6.71 |
| 17 | CASUALTY | Saturday 19 December 2015 | Drama | BBC1 | 20:00-20:49 | 6.57 |
| 18 | THE APPRENTICE: THE FINAL | Sunday 20 December 2015 | Factual | BBC1 | 21:09-23:08 | 6.52 |
| 19 | DICKENSIAN | Saturday 26 December 2015 | Drama | BBC1 | 19:01-19:30 | 6.52 |
| 20 | THE QUEEN’S CHRISTMAS MESSAGE | Friday 25 December 2015 | Factual | BBC1 | 15:00-15:09 | 6.35 |
Sky vs Freeview (share):
| Sky | Freeview | Difference in share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| BBC1 | 22.02 | 25.78 | 3.76 |
| BBC2 | 5.12 | 7.08 | 1.96 |
| ITV | 12.00 | 13.66 | 1.66 |
| Channel 4 | 5.54 | 5.78 | 0.24 |
| Channel 5 | 4.54 | 4.44 | -0.10 |
| Others | 50.78 | 43.28 | -7.50 |
Sky vs Cable Digital (share):
| Sky | Cable Digital | Difference in share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| BBC1 | 22.02 | 24.18 | 2.16 |
| BBC2 | 5.12 | 5.52 | 0.40 |
| ITV | 12.00 | 12.94 | 0.94 |
| Channel 4 | 5.54 | 6.66 | 1.12 |
| Channel 5 | 4.54 | 4.18 | -0.36 |
| Others | 50.78 | 46.54 | -4.24 |
Cable Digital vs Freeview (share):
| Cable Digital | Freeview | Difference in share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| BBC1 | 24.18 | 25.78 | 1.60 |
| BBC2 | 5.52 | 7.08 | 1.56 |
| ITV | 12.94 | 13.66 | 0.72 |
| Channel 4 | 6.66 | 5.78 | -0.88 |
| Channel 5 | 4.18 | 4.44 | 0.26 |
| Others | 46.54 | 43.28 | -3.26 |
