ITV dealt major blow as Christmas schedule tipped to become festive flop according to new data

On December 25, ITV will kick off its primetime Christmas Day coverage with a festive special of the Stephen Mulhern-led In For A Penny at 3:45pm.

Family flick Sing 2 then begins at 4:30pm before the soaps take over.

Emmerdale's festive offering starts at 6:30pm and is followed by Coronation Street at 7pm before Christmas editions of The Masked Singer and The 1% Club take viewers right through to 10pm.

Unfortunately for ITV bosses, however, GB News has discovered it would take an almighty feat for the channel to trump its main rival BBC One in the viewing figures.

Exclusive odds show that the flagship Beeb channel is priced at an odd-on 1/8 to be the most-watched terrestrial channel over the Christmas period.

This dwarfs the outsider odds of ITV which currently stands at 6/1 to draw in the most viewers.

ITV has outperformed the likes of Channel 4 and BBC Two in the market, however, as their odds stand at 25/1 apiece while Channel 5's festive offerings are 100/1 to bag it the title as the most-watched channel.

Explaining the thinking behind the data, Lee Astley, Head of News for BettingSites.co.uk, told GB News: "With Strictly and Eastenders specials planned, BBC One is a clear favourite to be the most watched channel over the Christmas period.

"In fact, the Strictly Christmas special is favourite to be the most watched program over the festive period."

Fresh off the back of Ellie Leach's Strictly victory, the Christmas special is the 11/10 favourite to be the most-viewed show.

The predictions come after the flagship series' grand finale underwhelmed in its average audience ratings compared to previous finals.

However, the Strictly Christmas Special - which has already sparked fury after the results leaked online weeks before the show - emerging as victorious is by no means a foregone conclusion.

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Close behind it in the market are both the Corrie festive episode and Eastenders' hotly-anticipated hour-long special.

Both are priced at 11/2 to be this year's most-watched festive program.