Repeats may be a source of consternation to many during the Christmas schedules but broadcasters have been queuing up on memory lane this year to serve up a healthy dose of nostalgia.

Eric and Ernie, a drama charting the careers of the comedy duo, drew in 6.1m viewers and complemented the success of Upstairs Downstairs, a re-imagining of the 1970s favourite.

It wasn’t all glad tidings for the Beeb however as the corporation suffered a slight fall in audience share on the day from 31.3% last year to 30.4%.

Nevertheless this clocked in at well over twice the share of ITV which suffered a bigger drop in audience share from 18.8% to 14% over the same period.

Commercial broadcasters tend to be at a comparative disadvantage over the holiday period as advertisers exhaust their annual budgets.

Leading the BBC’s success was Christmas staple Doctor Who together with Matt Lucas and David Walliam’s Little Britain follow up, Come Fly With Me.