What were the most watched TV shows in 2023? From Happy Valley to Bake Off, Eurovision and The Coronation

The last year has been an impressive one for TV. 2023 has had something for everyone, from the return of BBC drama Happy Valley, to the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool and history in the making with the King's Coronation.

The viewing results are finally in, with an impressive seven BBC programmes making it into the top ten. Here's everything you need to know about the most watched TV shows in 2023.

What were the most watched TV shows for 2023?

The results are in, with the viewing figures for the top ten most watched TV shows in 2023 being revealed by Advanced Television. Coming in as the front winner is The Coronation of the King and Queen Camilla, which attracted 12.8 million viewers when it aired on BBC. Whilst the biggest drama of the year went to Happy Valley, with 11.9 million viewers tuning in for its season 3 return on BBC.

Planet Earth III and Wild Isles lead the way for the most viewed factual documentaries and BBC's Ghost stole the show as the biggest watched comedy of the year, with 4.9 million viewers. Whilst Eurovision was the most watched entertainment show of the year with 10.7 million people watching the performances live from Liverpool.

Here are the most watched TV shows for 2023:

• The Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla - 12.8 million
• Happy Valley - 11.9 million
• Eurovision Song Contest - 10.7 million
• The Great British Bake Off - 9.7 million
• I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here - 9 million
• Planet Earth III - 8.9 million
• Strictly Come Dancing - 8.4 million
• Death in Paradise - 8.3 million
• Unforgotten - 8.2 million
• Wild Isles - 8.2 million

With seven out of the top 10 watched shows coming from the BBC, chief content officer Charlotte Moore said, "Only the BBC can offer such scale, distinctiveness and ambition. Our range of world-class programmes is unrivalled, we’ve delivered value to audiences and they’ve chosen the BBC in every genre."

She added: "We are facing tough financial challenges, and while we are not unique in this, what’s impressive is that despite all the millions being spent on global platforms, we’ve had an extraordinary year creatively."