List of most watched television broadcasts in the United Kingdom

The majority of special events attracting large audiences are often carried on more than one channel. The most watched programme of all time on a single channel is the 1973 wedding ceremony of The Princess Anne, shown only on BBC1.

• Post-1981 figures verified by the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB)
• Pre-1981 figures supplied by the British Film Institute (BFI)

Notes:

• At least two Muhammad Ali boxing matches were reported to have been watched by at least 26 million viewers in the United Kingdom: the Fight of the Century (Ali vs. Frazier) was reported to have been watched by 27.5 million British viewers in 1971,[7] and The Rumble in the Jungle (Ali vs. Foreman) was reported to have been watched by 26 million viewers on BBC One in 1974.[8]
• The Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton (29 April 2011) received a total audience peak of 26 million viewers, but this is a combined figure aggregated from the ten different channels that broadcast the ceremony. The highest figures of these were 13.59 million on BBC1, with an extra 4.02 million watching on ITV.[9]
• Nine different channels covered Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding, with a reach of 27.7 million viewers.[10]
• More than five different channels covered the speech made by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on 23 March 2020 regarding the coronavirus pandemic. It was estimated to have been seen by a total of 27 million people. The highest single figure was 14.61 million on BBC One, followed by 5.80 million on ITV.[11][12]

The following is a list of most watched programmes, excluding sporting events and news coverage. The mid-1980s introduction of in-week repeat showings accounts for six of the top ten programmes. On this measure, the 1996 Christmas edition of Only Fools and Horses is, not including figures for repeats, the most-watched non-documentary programme of all time so far in the United Kingdom. It is the third most-watched single-showing programme of all time so far on a single channel, behind the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony and the wedding of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips in 1973 (see below).

• Post-1981 figures verified by the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB)
• Pre-1981 figures supplied by the British Film Institute

Key

•    Numbers with this background and symbol are italicised to denote aggregated figure with repeat showing.

Rank	Programme	Synopsis	Viewers (millions)	Date	Network	Ref
1	EastEnders	Den Watts serves wife Angie with divorce papers.	30.15	25 December 1986	BBC One	[13]
2	EastEnders	The aftermath of Den's divorce to Angie.	28.00	1 January 1987	BBC One	[14]
3	Coronation Street	Hilda Ogden leaves Weatherfield.	26.65	25 December 1987	ITV (Granada)	[14]
4	Live Aid	16-hour concert in Wembley Stadium and John F. Kennedy Stadium for Band Aid.	24.50	13 July 1985	BBC One	[15]
5	Only Fools and Horses	"Time on Our Hands"	24.35	29 December 1996	BBC One	[16]
6	EastEnders	Arthur and Pauline Fowler urge their son Mark to tell his sister Michelle that he has HIV.	24.30	2 January 1992	BBC One	[2]
7	Royal Variety Performance 1965	Featuring Dame Shirley Bassey, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, and more.	24.20	14 November 1965	ITV (ATV)	[1]
8	EastEnders	Angie suffers a renal shutdown.	24.15	7 January 1988	BBC One	[17]
9	To the Manor Born	Finale of the first series.	23.95	11 November 1979	BBC One	[3]
10	Miss World 1967	Madeline Hartog-Bel (Miss Peru) wins.	23.76	19 November 1967	BBC One	[1]
11	EastEnders	The aftermath of Den's divorce to Angie	23.55	26 December 1985	BBC One	[18]
12	Panorama	Diana, Princess of Wales interview	22.78	20 November 1995	BBC One	[19]
13	Royal Variety Performance 1975	Performers include Bruce Forsyth, Dad's Army and Vera Lynn.	22.66	16 November 1975	ITV (ATV)	[3]
14	This Is Your Life	Lord Mountbatten	22.22	27 April 1977	ITV (Thames)	[3]
15	Sunday Night at the London Palladium	Presented by Jimmy Tarbuck.	21.89	3 December 1967	ITV (ATV)	[1]
16	The Benny Hill Show	"Cinema: The Vintage Years"	21.67	24 March 1971	ITV (Thames)	[3]
17	Dallas	"Who Done It" – Kristin Shepard is revealed to have shot J.R. Ewing.	21.60	22 November 1980	BBC One	[4]
	Coronation Street	Ken and Deirdre Barlow finalise their divorce.	21.60	8 January 1992	ITV (Granada)	[2]
18	Eurovision Song Contest 1973	Staged in Luxembourg - won by Anne-Marie David.	21.56	7 April 1973	BBC One	[3]
19	Steptoe and Son	"The Lodger" – Albert looks for a lodger.	21.54	18 February 1964	BBC TV	[1]
20	The Mike Yarwood Show	"Mike Yarwood Christmas Show"	21.40	25 December 1977	BBC One	[3]

Notes

• ^1 – Unverified sources state that this figure was higher[7], and that an audience of 26 million watched the Ali vs Foreman fight of 30 October 1974[8]. However these figures are not corroborated by the BFI.
• ^2 – The Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton (29 April 2011) "attracted a consolidated average audience of 26.0 [million] viewers across the ceremony from 11:00 am to 12:10 pm. This is an aggregated audience across 10 BARB reported channels that followed the events live."[54] The highest figures for individual channels of these were 13.59 million on BBC One, followed by 4.02 million watching on ITV.
• ^3 – The 2014 FIFA World Cup Final was broadcast by both BBC One and ITV. The highest figures were 14.96 million on BBC One, followed by 2.34 million on ITV.
• ^4 – Based on 7-day viewing figures.
• ^5 – Although there are no official figures for 1972, it is widely regarded that the year's edition of the Eurovision Song Contest was the most watched programme that year.[55][56]
• ^6 – The X Factor final 2010 (12 December 2010) had an additional 1.156 million viewers on its sister high definition channel ITV HD, in addition to the 16.553 million views on the main standard definition channel ITV, giving the programme an aggregate audience of 17.71 million viewers.[57]