The finale of ITV1's I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here drew an average of 11.8m viewers, overnight figures show. Ratings for the programme peaked on Monday at 12.8m and 53.3% of the audience, just before Carol Thatcher was crowned "queen of the jungle".
An average of 10.9m people saw comic Joe Pasquale win last year.
Thatcher, the daughter of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, is the second female winner of the show.
'Jungle antics'
Former Atomic Kitten singer Kerry Katona's win in February 2004 attracted an average audience of 14.1m.
When cricketer Phil Tufnell won in May 2003, 12.3m people tuned in, and 10.9m people watched when Tony Blackburn won the first show in 2002.
Journalist Thatcher, 52, beat ex-Emmerdale actress Sheree Murphy, who came second, and former EastEnders star Sid Owen.
ITV's director of television Simon Shaps said: "We are thrilled that the programme has proved more popular than ever and that so many millions have tuned in to the series over the past two weeks."
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Thatcher interview