The final episode of Downton Abbey beat Strictly Come Dancing and Mrs Brown's Boys to win the battle of the Christmas Day TV ratings.
With an average of 6.6 million viewers, the two-hour long farewell for Julian Fellowes' drama just pipped the Strictly Christmas special, which was the BBC's most-watched show of the day with a UK audience of 6.5 million.
ITV said: "This is the first time a Downton Christmas special has topped the ratings in the UK on Christmas Day."
The BBC claimed eight of the 10 most watched Christmas shows, with Dubliner Brendan O'Carroll's Mrs Brown's Boys drawing an average of 6.4 million despite its late scheduling, beating Doctor Who and Call the Midwife.
The broadcaster has scheduled two festive episodes of the sit-com, which has topped the overall Christmas Day TV ratings for the last two years, pulling in 9.7 million viewers in 2014.
However, the real ratings winner was Queen Elizabeth, whose 3pm broadcast had the biggest overall figures for the day, drawing 6.1 million on the BBC and 1.1 million on ITV.
Downton went head-to-head with an hour-long special of EastEnders in the 8.45pm slot but even a shock car crash involving the Mitchell and Beale families only captured the attention of 5.7 million fans.
Coronation Street triumphed as the most-watched soap on Christmas Day as it pulled in 5.9 million viewers, while Emmerdale got 4.4 million.
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CHRISTMAS DAY TOP 10
1. The Queen (BBC One/ITV) - 7.2m (6.1m on BBC and 1.1m on ITV)
2. Downton Abbey - The Finale (ITV) - 6.6m
3. Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special (BBC One) - 6.5m
4. Mrs Brown's Boys Christmas Special (BBC One) - 6.4m
5. Stick Man (BBC One) - 6.4m
6. Call The Midwife (BBC One) - 5.8m
7. Doctor Who (BBC One) - 5.8m
8. EastEnders (BBC One) - 5.7m
9. Coronation Street (ITV) - 5.6m
10. Brave (BBC One) - 5.5m
(These figures exclude repeats and +1 catch up channels)
