UK TV ratings bonanza: The most watched shows of 2022

It’s been a fun year, one that started with Omicron stealing the headlines (doesn’t feel like a while) and ended with strikes and snow disrupting the crowd and a weird World Cup in Qatar that ended with A great The final ended while Great Britain established its third prime minister in 12 months. In between, viewers were mesmerized by dancers, singers, bomb disposal experts and a former health minister who ate a camel’s penis. Here, Deadline reveals the year’s most-watched British TV shows (excluding sports) according to Barb data 7 days after the launch of Overnights.tv, while the most-watched World Cup matches are rounded up at the end. Read on.

The state funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth approx – 25m (BBC/ITV/Sky etc – Monday 19 September)

According to some statistics, HM Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral was the most watched British television program of all time, and several analysts put the global viewership at the most optimistic figure of around 4 billion. Britain shut down this year after the death of the world’s longest-serving monarch and after 10 days of national mourning, during which no one was really allowed to do anything funny and devoted mourners lined up by the thousands to see a coffin at Britain’s funeral takes place on a hastily concocted public holiday instead of. The result was a mass spectacle that was broadcast on around 50 UK channels and reached 29 million and was seen by 37.5 million people for at least three minutes. This audience was larger than the approximately 30 million people who tuned in to the funeral of Princess Diana in 1997 and in front of the Queen’s husband, Prince Philip, and the Queen Mother. Coverage of the funeral, which peaked around 11:00 GMT (03:00 PST) when the coffin arrived at Westminster Abbey, was widely praised for its respectful tone and superb production, which was put together in less than two weeks . The Coronation of King Charles III. in May will probably be on this list in a year.

I’m a celebrity… Get me out of here! – 11.9m (ITV – Sunday 6 November)

In last year’s list, ITV’s winter entertainment was beaten by evergreen BBC rivals Be sure to come dance but this year it came back with a roar – thanks more or less to a certain ex-minister. Matt Hancock, the man widely blamed for several Covid-19-related scandals and who eventually resigned after having an affair while flouting his own Covid guidelines, made headlines far outside the political bubble when he announced his hat in the air. i am a celebrity Ring. After being promptly abandoned by the Conservatives, the soon-to-be-dead MP sparked conversations across the country when the show kicked off in early November, drawing the biggest crowds for its opening on Sunday 6 November. Hancock’s agonizing over a camel’s penis and a sheep’s vagina, arguments with Boy George and vaguely odd behavior formed the beating heart and helped lift the finale to a four-year high, with the former minister finished third as European soccer champion Jill Scott won the crown. . After a difficult few years during which ITV Studios’ show was forced to cope with the pandemic by moving to a castle in Wales, this year’s 22nd season in Australia proved that the Ant and Dec-hosted format is back and is stronger than it has ever been.

Be sure to come dance – 10.5 million (BBC One – Saturday 17 December)

Maybe different i am a celebrity these years strict was a quieter affair than last year, though it still got millions of views a week for its 20th season. While last year broke into the wider zeitgeist for the brave, endearing performance of eventual winner Rose Ayling-Ellis, who was the first person to be callous to support it strict trophy, along with the introduction of the first male same-sex couple, John Whaite and Johannes Radebe, makes the 2022 edition feel more strict Bread and butter. Mind you, it was great fun to see ex-Arsenal footballer Tony Adams put on his dancing shoes. In the end, Natural History children’s presenter Hamza Yassin – dubbed by some as ‘the next Attenborough’ – won the audience’s hearts, beating Helen Skelton, Fleur East and Molly Rainford to win the competition in a thrilling final. Rest assured that the magic of what started as a quirky ballroom dance in the mid-1990s and is still the BBC’s biggest TV show, bar none, will be praised until the cows come home 20 years on. as seen by millions of people of all ages. While any suggestion to undo it will be met with outrage, producers may be thinking about how to make the 2023 edition one that lingers a little more in the nation’s collective psyche.

The Eurovision Song Contest – 9.1m (BBC One – Saturday 14 May)

Not everyone admits they are the greatest euro vision Fan all over the world, but boy is it a lot of people watching and a lot of them tuning in to see the annual Eurotrash bashbag in May, a truly impressive seven year highlight in the UK. And what a spectacle. This year’s competition was an emotional victory for Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra, just three months after the Russian invasion and proof of the orchestra’s power euro vision The deservingly victorious hip-hop group, who sold their trophy and donated the proceeds to the Ukrainian war effort, became overnight superstars and tracks of their victory song Stephanie has been viewed millions of times. Meanwhile, the UK actually did well. Sam Ryder’s roaring performance spaceman The nation finished second for the first time in living memory with a normal zero and due to Ukraine’s inability to host. euro vision, means the UK, or rather Liverpool, will host the 2023 edition, which the BBC has promised will be an ode to Ukrainian culture. So with one euro vision At home and many funding programs planned, 2023 can simply ride and stay on the wave of 2022 euro vision at the top of people’s television priorities.

trigger point – 8.7m (ITV – Sunday 23 January)

Jed Mercury mandatory line made the list last year, but in 2022 ITV hit back with its own Mercurio-led riots. The result was trigger point, a exercise of dutyAs a thriller about a bomb disposal expert starring, you guessed it, area of ​​responsibility Vicky McClure. Written by newcomer Daniel Brierley, the six-part lead singer of Mercurio and Jimmy Mulville’s HTM Television had all the ingredients for success and did not disappoint. McClure, which debuted in January, played Lana Washington, a former military bomb disposal agent and Afghan War veteran who leads a Met Police bomb squad and uses her skills to counter the terrorist threat. Not much more needs to be said and McClure was supported by an incredible, respected cast including Adrian Lester and Ralph Ineson. trigger point strengthening Mercurio’s position as a pure hit factory and also managed to produce ITVs That beam and a second season of the BBC hit blood countries in the same year. Of mandatory line‘s future remains in the balance and another season of trigger point on the way he could run and run.

The best of the rest

World Cup watch

This year was of course the year of the Winter World Cup and although the sport is not on our main list, we have to admit that the controversial Qatar tournament drew a huge audience. Was at the top of the list England’s heartbreaking 2-1 defeat against France on Saturday 10 December, peaking at 21.3 million on ITV1 and becoming the most-watched single program of the year (the Queen’s funeral was watched on multiple channels). This match was just before the previous round England 3-0 Senegal, which dipped just below the peak of 20 meters. The final on December 18 was third when the thrilling penalty was decided Argentina vs France peaked at 19.3 million during its approximately two and a half hour run, which aired on both BBC One and ITV1.

All Barb data is provided by nights.tv