Platinum Jubilee: BBC rakes in 13m viewers during star-studded concert
While the Platinum Jubilee celebrations may be over, there is still reason for jubilation at the BBC, after tallying a record number of viewers over the weekend.
An average of nearly 12 million Brits tuned in to watch the Platinum Party in the Palace on BBC One on Saturday.
The concert celebrating the Queen’s 70 years on the throne saw stars including Diana Ross and Rod Stewart perform in front of Buckingham Palace.
The event, which was attended by the Royal family, politicians and stars, saw the BBC’s biggest audience of the year, peaking at 13.4 million.
The BBC said it had a 74.3 per cent share of the audience.
The audience overshadowed BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing final, which averaged 11 million viewers back in December, as well as the Eurovision Song Contest, which saw nearly nine million people glued to their screens.
The festivities come alongside ongoing debate about the future of the Beeb’s licence fee, which has been a point of contention for Tory MPs.
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, who previously hinted an end of the BBC licence fee, praised the public broadcaster’s work over the weekend.
She tweeted: “Huge congratulations to the BBC, the palace and the organisers for putting on such an amazing show for us all”.