Only Fools and Horses was UK's most watched

Only Fools And Horses was again the biggest show on the box in Britain, with 16.3 million tuning in to see Del Boy and Rodney’s final scam – although it was down four million on the previous Christmas.

The show pulled in 63% of viewers for the 90-minute special, screened at 9.40pm, and led the BBC’s domination of TV viewing, which saw it take much of the top ten shows.

The BBC said last year’s outing of the Peckham pair may have fared better due to the earlier time slot and the huge sense of anticipation, as it was the first new Only Fools for five years.

EastEnders was the second biggest show of the day, according to unofficial overnight figures, with 16 million tuning in to the later edition to see the traditional seasonal misery. Among the grim treats for viewers was Jamie Mitchell’s death.

Coronation Street – the most watched show at Christmas two years ago – was in third place with fellow ITV1 soap Emmerdale in sixth position.

The BBC has traditionally won the battle to grab viewers who are slumped in front of the festive TV. BBC1 pulled in 44.6% of viewers in peak time (6pm to 10.30pm) – down 6% on last year – compared with ITV1’s 32.7%. And it had 38.8% of viewing for the whole day, against ITV1’s 24.2%.

The final Only Fools saw the Trotters – played by David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst – heading to France to scatter the ashes of Uncle Albert. On their return the duo manage to pick up an illegal immigrant.

Viewing figures will rise when video recordings are taken into account.

Top ten programmes:

1. Only Fools And Horses – 16.3 million (BBC1).

2. EastEnders (9.05pm) – 16 million (BBC1).

3. Coronation Street – 13.3 million (ITV1).

4. EastEnders (6.15pm) – 12.4 million (BBC1).

5. News (6pm) – 10.8 million (BBC1).

6. Emmerdale – 10.3 million (ITV1).

7. Queen’s Speech – 9.3 million (BBC1 – 6.5, ITV1 – 2.8).

8. Chicken Run – 9.1 million (BBC1).

9. French And Saunders – 8.7 million (BBC1).

10. My Family – 8 million (BBC1).