MICHAEL McIntyre won the Christmas Day ratings war, with up to 6.8million watching his festive special.

His BBC1 Big Christmas Show smashed last year’s winner, Mrs Brown’s Boys, which shed nearly 3million viewers as it pulled in a measly 4.75million.

Success for McIntyre, 42, capped a great night for the Beeb, which had all the top ten most watched Christmas Day programmes, except for Coronation Street on ITV.

Director of BBC content Charlotte Moore said: “We’re happy so many people chose to watch BBC1 this Christmas Day.

“Whether it be entertainment shows such as Michael McIntyre and Strictly Come Dancing, drama like Call the Midwife or comedy with Mrs Brown’s Boys, we want to offer something for everyone.”

The figures are for peak audiences and do not include those who watched on catch-up services.

They are down on last year and nowhere near the 20million and more who would watch a single programme in the 1980s.

McIntyre’s show, with guests included Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins, 38, and Michelin-starred chef Michel Roux Jr, 58, outstripped the Queen’s Christmas message which had a live peak audience of 5.4million on BBC1. However, it was also shown on ITV, Sky One and Sky News and average figures were higher across the four channels.

EastEnders lost 1.9million viewers on last year with 5.3million watching Shane Ritchie’s Alfie Moon get pushed down the stairs by Hayley Slater, mother of his lovechild.

The Great Christmas Bake Off was Channel 4’s most popular show but pulled in only 2.5million.