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 special event programme of all time on a single channel in the UK is the 1973 wedding ceremony of Princess Anne, shown only on BBC One.

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

Notes:

• The Coronation of Elizabeth II (2 June 1953) was reportedly watched by more than 20 million households, with some figures cited as high as 27 million households, though this figure is before modern ratings were introduced.^[9][10]
• 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,^[11] and The Rumble in the Jungle (Ali vs. Foreman) was reported to have been watched by 26 million viewers on BBC in 1974.^[12]
• The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton (29 April 2011) received a total average audience of 26 million viewers. This is a combined figure aggregated from the ten different channels that broadcast the ceremony.^[13] The highest figures of these were 13.59 million on BBC, with an extra 4.02 million watching on ITV.^[13][14]
• Boris Johnson's address on 23 March 2020 was simulcast to 14.61 million viewers on BBC, 5.80 million on ITV, and more than 6 million on other channels.^[15][6]
• The state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II (19 September 2022) was watched by an average audience of 18.5 million viewers on BBC channels.^{[8][clarification needed]}
• Despite various social media posts stating so, Balamory has never been the highest viewed television programme in the UK.

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.

The viewing figures for this table come from the British Film Institute (BFI) until 1980 and Barb Audiences from 1981.^[25] Average audience is used, and all data is based on single channel viewership except where noted.