UK to watch 86m hours of TV this Christmas Day People in Britain are predicted to watch 86 million hours of TV this Christmas Day, with the average UK household watching 3.45 hours of programmes during the course of the day. The biggest switch on will be at 10am on Christmas Day, when one in ten people across the UK will be turning on their TV sets, according to a survey of 2,000 people conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Samsung Smart TV, making it the most popular time for Britons to begin their festive viewing. The only part of the country that will not be making an early start is the South West, where the big TV switch on moment is expected to be at 3pm - perhaps reflecting a patriotic feeling in the region as this is the time the Queen's Speech airs on TV. More than a third (34 per cent) of people said they will keep their TV on even once the presents are opened and lunch preparation gets underway, as it adds to the general festive atmosphere. When it comes to choosing what to watch, the Queen's Speech and Carols from Kings beat the likes of Downton Abbey and soap Christmas specials. However, soaps are set to be the most popular shows watched through catch-up services, with Eastenders and Coronation Street Christmas specials topping the list. Overall, 15 million hours of all TV watched this Christmas will be through catch-up services. More than a third (40 per cent) of respondents said they will be using catch-up TV to stop family arguments over what to watch, and over a quarter will use it catch up on programmes the rest of the family is not interested in. The news follows a report that nearly half of Christmas television will be made up of repeats this year, with around 600 hours of old material being broadcast on the main channels. Nearly three-quarters of programmes shown on BBC Two will be repeat episodes, along with 30 per cent of BBC One - a significant increase from last year. A further 59 per cent of Channel 4 shows will already have been broadcast, with 28 per cent of ITV's output being seen before.