Viewers switch on to Queen's Speech

The Queen's Speech was a winner in the TV Christmas schedules with audiences up for the first time in 10 years.

Despite fears the Paul Burrell affair might dampen the nation's enthusiasm for the annual address, viewing figures rose by more than half a million on last year to 9.3million.

Royal PR officials believe the Golden Jubilee celebrations combined with a lastminute publicity campaign to advertise the Christmas Day speech for the first time are behind the boost.

During the speech, shown on BBC1 and ITV1, the Queen spoke movingly about the loss of her mother and sister in a year in which she said her personal grief had been tempered by the joy of the Golden Jubilee celebrations.

The popularity of this year's broadcast comes after a decade of decline. Audience figures rose briefly in 1997, after the death of Princess Diana, but have dropped steadily since the late Eighties, when they reached a peak of 27 million in 1987.

This year's schedule winner was Only Fools And Horses, with 16.3 million viewers on Christmas Day. Second was the

9.05pm edition of EastEnders, watched by 16 million.

Coronation Street came third, with

13.3 million viewers. Other top prog --rammes included an earlier edition of East-Enders, BBC1 News, Emmerdale, Chicken Run and French And Saunders.

Only two of the top 10 shows were broadcast on ITV1.