History-making events top chart of decade’s biggest TV audiences so far A new King, a global pandemic and a trophy for England at the women’s Euros mean this is already a decade like no other – and all were responsible for some of the biggest TV audiences of the first half of the 2020s.
Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral and King Charles’s coronation both attracted enormous ratings, as did former prime minister Boris Johnson’s broadcasts about Covid-19, proving that moments of history still draw in millions of viewers.
This is one of the highest ratings in modern television history, according to analysis by the PA news agency using data from the research organisation Barb, which has been responsible for calculating UK TV official viewing figures continuously since 1981.
have also pulled in huge audiences, as have surprise hits including 2024’s Mr Bates v The Post Office.
