Freesat revealed the nation’s Christmas TV viewing habits on Wednesday 9 December and it’s no surprise that The Granthams top the poll for the most anticipated show of the upcoming festive season!

Christmas and TV are inexorably linked and as news of the 2015 Christmas TV schedules are released, subscription free satellite TV provider Freesat took a look at what its viewers are looking forward to doing and watching over the holiday period.

Christmas is traditionally a competitive battleground for our TV eyeballs and this year is no exception. The most anticipated show of Christmas 2015 is Downton Abbey, with nearly a third (30%) of us looking forward to the finale this Christmas. Sherlock should set New Year’s Day alight with 23% of us excitedly awaiting the return of everyone’s favourite TV detective. 41% of us say that we always sit down with family to watch the Christmas Day film on what is still a hugely important day for the box in the corner of the living room.

Soaps are often the centre of the TV schedule throughout the year and Christmas is no different. While EastEnders tops Corrie for always having the most exciting festive storylines (33% of us think so), the venerable daytime soap Doctors beats Hollyoaks for Christmas excitement with 1 in 10 (11%) of us thinking it has the festive excitement factor (compared to 5% for Hollyoaks).

Comedy is obviously the secret to our hearts at Christmas. When asked who we’d like to join us for Christmas dinner, Mrs Brown scored nearly a third (31%) of the vote. And it appears that nothing has managed to take the place of an old TV comedy Christmas favourite in the schedule with a massive 59% of us wanting to bring back Only Fools and Horses for Christmas.

The happiest part of Christmas Day is watching TV for nearly a third of us, with over half (55%) saying it is one of the few times of year when they sit down and watch TV together as a family. The study also looked at how tech continues to invade every part of our life over the Christmas season and it has no place at the Christmas table, with a quarter of us (27%) having disagreements about mobiles or tablets being used at Christmas lunch. In fact more than 1 in 6 of us (16%) ban second screens at home on Christmas Day in favour of a day focusing on family. Yet we’ve worked out a way to solve the invasion of second screens at our Christmas tables, with two-thirds (66%) of us savvy enough with TV technology to decide what to view in advance by recording and watching when the flurry of food is over. In fact over half of us (52%) rely on our TV’s built in guide to point us the right way, with TV magazines only a necessity for a third (36%) of us.

Yet a quarter of us (26%) have disagreements over what to watch during the festive season. In fact by midday on Christmas Day nearly half of us (49%) have had a disagreement already, with the most popular reason being not helping in the kitchen (50%). And while mother in laws may be the butt of the jokes, only 1 in 10 of us have fallen out with ours over Christmas.

Freesat spokesperson Jennifer Elworthy commented on the findings: “With the best specials and compelling storylines across our favourite soaps, dramas and comedies, Christmas is without a doubt the best time of year to watch telly. 2015 looks set to be packed with great programmes for the whole family, whatever the situation. The toughest decision will be deciding what to watch.”

Freesat have launched a series of Christmas TV viewing lists for the festive season. You can find some advice on the best TV for you this holiday at: Christmas.freesat.co.uk

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