In fact, it seems men and women disagree over almost everything on the box, according to the first detailed² analysis breaking down viewing habits by gender³.

 

It showed that men – perhaps unsurprisingly – spent much of the year glued to sports.

 

Apart from a single episode of Sherlock on New Year’s Day, the ten biggest male TV audiences were for World Cup football matches, with England’s clash against Italy in June top of the list with 8.2million watching. 

 

Women, meanwhile, preferred shows about cookery and childbirth.

 

The Great British Bake Off final in October got the biggest female audience of the year, with 7.8million tuning⁴ in, compared with 4.8million men.

 

Bake Off and the BBC drama Call The Midwife accounted for nine of the top ten female audiences of the year, with Strictly⁵ Come Dancing also among their favourites.

 

Even within genres⁶, men and women are at odds⁷. 

 

The figures, compiled by the research company Attentional, show women’s favourite soap was Coronation Street on ITV, while men narrowly preferred the BBC’s grittier EastEnders.

 

The top TV dramas for men were those featuring crime and intrigue⁸, such as Sherlock and Doctor Who, or swashbuckling action, such as BBC1’s The Musketeers.

 

With 300,000 more male than female fans, Doctor Who was the only mainstream⁹ drama to score more highly overall with men than women, who generally watch more TV.

 

For drama, women preferred the gentler historical charms of Call The Midwife and Downton Abbey.

 

One of the few things men and women agreed on was that Graham Norton was the best chat show host.

 

For men, the best Saturday night entertainment show of the year was Britain’s Got Talent on ITV, while among women it was the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.

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