"Only Fools and Horses" has become the most watched program in Britain and has remained so for the past 15 years since 1996. Besides the mentioned one, the list of the top 20 most watched programs in the UK comprise some of the oldest shows of the golden era.
The Press Association has listed down the shows on the basis of the most watched single episode of the UK television shows. According to the association's report, an episode of "Only Fools And Horses" that aired on December 29, 1996, has attracted the maximum number of audiences and has recorded its name in the history of British TV becoming the single most-watched show in the UK.
According to the Press Association data, the number of viewers who enjoyed the "Only Fools and Horses" episode reached 24.35 million mark. This was the episode in which protagonists David Jason's Del Boy and Rodney Trotter finally turn into a millionaire. According to Chortle UK, it was expected to be the last ever episode of the show but it became one of the last episodes of the first of the festive trilogy.
Besides "Only Fools and Horses", among the top 20 most-watched shows in the UK, most of them belong to the shows of the golden period of television. Out of the top 10 programs, seven shows that have marked 80 years of British TV broadcasting belong to the comic genre. The first regular TV service in Britain commenced at 3 PM on November 2, 1936, by BBC. From a single channel to 300 channels, the growth of the British television service is remarkable in these eight decades, Sky News stated.
The list of top 20 TV shows in the UK along with the number of viewers the single episodes grabbed is mentioned below:
1. Only Fools and Horses - 24.35 million
2. To The Manor Born - 23.95 million
3. The Royal Variety Performance - 22.80 million
4. Panorama - 22.77 million
5. The Royal Variety Performance - 21.70 million
6. Dallas - 21.60 million
7. To The Manor Born - 21.55 million
8. The Mike Yarwood Christmas Show - 21.40 million
Coronation Street 21.40 million
10. Only Fools and Horses - 21.35 million
11. Only Fools and Horses - 21.33 million
12. Only Fools and Horses - 21.31 million
13. The Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show - 21.30 million
14. The Royal Variety Performance - 21.20 million
The Silver Jubilee Royal Variety Gala - 21.20 million
16. Bread - 20.95 million
17. The Benny Hill Show - 20.85 million
18. Coronation Street - 20.80 million
19. Just Good Friends - 20.75 million
20. Sale of the Century - 20.60 million
Coronation Street - 20.60 million
Coronation Street - 20.60 million
