MRS BROWN’S BOYS was the most-watched television programme on RTÉ on Christmas Day, the broadcaster has revealed.

This year’s special, Mrs Brown’s Boys – Exotic Mammy, was watched by an average audience of 612,000 viewers, earning it a 41% share of the market at the time it aired.

It is the eighth year in a row that the sitcom has topped RTÉ’s Christmas Day ratings, although the audience represents a drop of more than a third from its 2012 peak, when 972,000 viewers tuned in.

The Young Offenders seasonal special was the broadcaster’s second most-watched show on 25 December, with with 480,000 average viewers and 36% share. It has also been streamed over 18,000 times to date on the RTÉ Player.

In third, an hour-long Fair City special on Christmas Day was watched by an average audience of 349,000.

Meanwhile, the broadcaster also revealed that its most-watched Christmas Day movie was Home Alone.

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That was followed by The Jungle Book, with Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Magnificent Seven also faring well with audiences.

RTÉ added that a festive Late Late Show which aired last Friday and two episodes of the news also featured in the top five programmes to broadcast between 21 and 26 December.