Fancy a flutter on the TV ratings this Christmas? Here's the latest odds via William Hill for most watched on December 25.

CHRISTMAS DAY: TOP TV PROGRAMME (OVERNIGHTS)
Strictly Come Dancing: 6/4 Fav
Mrs. Brown's Boys: 5/2
Call the Midwife: 4/1
Great Christmas Bake Off: 6/1
EastEnders: 8/1
Frozen: 8/1
The Queen (BBC): 12/1
Coronation Street: 16/1
Maigret: 16/1
Doctor Who: 20/1
For The Love of Dogs: 25/1
The Lion King: 33/1
The Queen (ITV): 33/1
Emmerdale: 40/1
Top of the Pops: 50/1

http://sports.williamhill.com/bet/en...Programme.html

Do some of these prices shock you? They did me!

Looks like EastEnders' recent slump hasn't gone unnoticed by the odds compilers: but Strictly looks much too short to me and there's value to be had in backing a few like Bake Off against it. You'd fear Mrs Brown's Boys more if it had a half decent slot, but it could be up against it there especially as EE can't be depended upon to deliver the sort of lead-in it might have done in the past.

Ooh some of them look worth a punt. Do they pay out based on overnights, single showings, officials? Such as Queen topped before when you included BBC and ITV I think.

Cancel my question, I've just read their page

Overnights from BARB it says underneath.

Which is weird, because BARB doesn't really *do* overnights as such, do they?

I am hoping the Queen does badly and I reckon after the revelation she is getting money to refurb Buckingham Palace, there is a backlash. Hate the Royals with a passion but save that for a Politics thread.

Bake-Off and EE if what is proposed comes off are good bets.

Despite a slump in quality and ratings, EE at 8/1 seems a great punt...it's still a big Christmas tradition for many and it's nearly always in the top 3. Frozen at similar odds isn't a bad shout either.

I can't look beyond MBB though. Only Downton's finale last year has beaten it since it became a Christmas Day staple.

I guess they'll go with whatever BBC News report. I think I may put £5 on SCD, Mrs Brown's Boys, Frozen and Xmas Bake Off.

I don't care. BBC1 is still mostly factual on Monday and when there is a gap for drama it's not fun or light.


You used to get a sitcom on Monday night as well like Keeping Up Appearances, Birds Of A Feather, 2Point4 Children, One Foot In The Grave or The Royle Family. It wasn't wall to wall factual bar EastEnders from 7-10pm. This Autumn, Monday nights on BBC1 have been rubbish.

From ITV Media:

Tuesday Top 10: Main channels (inc. +1 where applicable)

1 BBC One - 07:30 PM EastEnders 6.073m 31%
2 ITV - 07:00 PM Emmerdale 5.856m 31% Probably around 6.2m (?) tape checked
3 BBC One - 06:30 PM Regional News and Weather 5.414m 30%
4 BBC One - 06:00 PM BBC News at Six 5.143m 30%
5 BBC One - 08:00 PM Holby City 4.293m 21%
6 BBC One - 07:00 PM The One Show 4.156m 22%
7 BBC One - 09:00 PM Rillington Place 4.112m 21%
8 BBC One - 10:00 PM BBC News at Ten 3.827m 24%
9 ITV - 06:00 PM ITV Regional News 3.646m 22%
10 ITV - 05:00 PM The Chase 3.596m 26%

Tuesday Top 10: Other channels (inc. +1 where applicable)

1 ITV3 - 08:00 PM Midsomer Murders 816k 4.1%
2 BBC Four - 09:00 PM Digging for Britain 648k 3.3%
3 E4 - 07:00 PM Hollyoaks 574k 3.0%
4 BBC Four - 08:00 PM Ian Hislop Goes off the Rails 566k 2.8%
5 ITV2 - 10:55 PM Family Guy 430k 4.6%
6 ITV2 - 04:45 PM The Jeremy Kyle Show 427k 3.3%
7 ITV2 - 10:10 PM American Pie 414k 2.9%
8 ITV2 - 07:30 PM You've Been Framed! Gold 411k 2.1%
9 ITV2 - 11:25 PM Family Guy 410k 6.0%
10 CBeebies - 05:35 PM Teacup Travels 403k 2.8%

For some reason, even at the time it is, I think Bake Off might win Christmas Day.

I don't think the strictly line-up looks particularly inspiring... the person from this series who was eliminated first doesn't seem likely to draw in the punters?

A slight rise for EastEnders there which is good to see. I really hope that it will be the top soap this Christmas as it looks to be full of drama but also with a brilliant community feel to it. Lee's depression getting worse and his exit, Max's return, Ronnie and Roxy's shocking exits, The Mitchells dealing with Phil's possible death.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Nice to see RP gain 10% - I'm guessing episode 1 got 4.5m consolidated and some of them watched episode 2 as VOSDAL this time. It's not amazing numbers but itv would take that for tonight.

I would imagine many millions were watching something that they've taped previously or off catch-up. Tuesday is the day i watch Monday Night Football and it's a good day to catch-up on stuff.

I notice no UCL game drew 400k on BT Sport last night.

Not especially, I wouldn't have thought - Robbie's not even in it. And people do still like Robbie, in the right context, or his records wouldn't still be going to number one. They don't like him enough to watch ninety minutes of him, but shows like this were hardly doing great numbers even when he was in his pomp.

As for Wednesdays, as mentioned it would usually be Inside Story or QED after the news at 9.30, opposite a big drama or entertainment show on ITV - of course in those days it was Thames' big night. But I was mostly talking about the noughties when you had dull business like this, and at stupid times to squeeze the lottery in - http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules...don/2001-02-21


The One Show isn't factual, they have loads of chat in it as well. Before 9pm they didn't used to have wall to wall soaps on ITV affecting what the BBC could show. One Foot In The Grave and The Royle Family were on Mondays for six weeks in their entire history, and that was an atypical period when the news had just moved and BBC1 were still experimenting.

And all this is also based on the idea that viewers remember what's on any given Monday anyway, which they don't. They watch programmes, not evenings.


Unsurprising when neither had much riding on it, both Arsenal and Man City were already through, Man City's game was meaningless and Arsenal were reliant on other results to make any difference to their progress. But that's always been a problem for this matchday in the Champions League.

Max's revenge is the biggest potential storyline EastEnders has going forward. My problem is that they'll make it a damp squib. Many of the people he should be getting revenge against are gone.

From Broadcast (inc. +1):

Our Queen at 90: 1.8m (8.7%)
Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild: 1.3m (6.4%)
Slum Britain: 50 Years On: 730k (5.9%)
Westworld: 148k (4.4%) at 2.30am; 276k (1.6%) at 9pm

ITV NEED to stop their cheap factual obsession. Said it before and said it again, they're sitting on money and start fining or sacking bosses they are stifling creativity.

In news that I suspect will have come as a shock to those involved as much as anyone else, it seems that somehow Play To The Whistle has been recommissioned.

Must be dirt cheap.

5 will be pleased with how Slum Britain did, considering it didn't finish unti 2330

Good review here:

http://www.theartsdesk.com/tv/slum-b...ears-channel-5

I'm British, and I love it. This has far more to do with it being Channel 4 and incompetent scheduling than the programme itself. Pretty much every TV critic in the press was exhorting people to watch it yesterday so clearly they didn't think it was 'too corny' for a British audience. It's ridiculous that there's a de facto ban on the BBC showing US imports. A proper demonstration of faith from one of the big boys would have given the show a proper chance.

It's up to ITV how they do or don't spend their money. The Government can't just start sacking their executives because they don't like what ITV is or isn't showing. The Government doesn't tell sky off for spending too much on football and not enough on drama.

I don't think there is any lack of competition and all ITV are doing is sending advertisers elsewhere by showing low-rated stuff. But ITV used to do that in the past when they used to show lots of repeats in primetime.

Ahem, wait for it...
there is only one May and Hammond who should be interested in the dealings of ITV...

10pm on a weekday??

Beggars belief, it really is.

Another primetime slot where ITV are settling for ~2m.

That might be worth a try. They surely can't waste the BGT lead-in on it again? I think that Keith Lemon & Paddy McGuinness movie thing will get that slot in 2017 anyway.

I'd shorten it to 30 minutes and either put it on a weekday at 10pm or on a Monday or Friday at 8pm between the Corries for a bit of variety in that slot.