Betting company Paddy Power have collated odds on which television programme will top the Christmas Day ratings this year; as of today Doctor Who is currently believed to be the fourth most likely show to claim the coveted spot.

Paddy Power Odds (30 Nov)
2/5   Eastenders
5/1   The Royle Family
      Coronation Street
8/1   Doctor Who
12/1  Emmerdale
      Upstairs Downstairs
14/1  Queen's Speech
      Top Gear
16/1  Strictly Come Dancing
20/1  The One Ronnie
25/1  Come Fly With Me
      BBC News
33/1  Rock and Chips
      Harry Hill's TV Burp
40/1  Top of the Pops
50/1  The Nativity

Last year saw similar expectations for the shows vying for the top; however the final result was controversial in terms of the ratings, as the launch of BBCHD gave viewers a choice of channel to watch the show on - thus Doctor Who was the most watched programme overall on television that day, but third in individual channel ratings (see our chart for details).

Not so much a problem in previous years, with clear-cut ratings breakdowns showing:

2005: Eastenders, 10.60m(1)
      The Christmas Invasion, 9.84m(2)
2006: The Vicar of Dibley, 12.39m(1)
      Eastenders, 9.40m/11.56m(3/2)
      The Runaway Bride, 9.35m(4)
2007: Eastenders, 14.38m(1)
      Voyage of the Damned 13.31m(2)
2008: Wallace and Gromit, 16.15m(1)
      The Next Doctor, 13.10m(2)

 

How will Doctor Who fare this year? The HD division should not be an issue this year (BBC1 and BBC1HD are considered to be the same channel, and not separate like the BBCHD channel), but the traditional competition is on hand to give us a good fight for the top spot on the day!

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