Doctor Who and the FA Cup caused the biggest fuss on Facebook and Twitter despite neither having the largest TV audience in May.
New findings from Virgin Media reveal which TV shows we can't stop talking about.
According to this month's Hotlist, a rundown of the most viewed and most talked about TV programmes, there were several shows in May that became a major talking point on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
The hottest TV shows from the past month were ITV's Britain's Got Talent and the BBC's Graham Norton Show, which each scored seven out of 10 in the Hotlist.
Virgin Media's Hotlist for May 2013:
| TV programme | Hotlist score (out of 10) |
| The Graham Norton Show | 7.00 |
| Britain's Got Talent | 7.00 |
| Doctor Who | 6.00 |
| FA Cup final | 6.00 |
| The Voice | 5.33 |
| Eurovision Song Contest | 5.33 |
| BAFTA Awards | 5.00 |
| MasterChef | 4.67 |
| The Ice Cream Girls | 4.00 |
| The Apprentice | 4.00 |
| The British Soap Awards | 4.00 |
To calculate what's hot on the box, Virgin Media created an algorithm, verified by experts at the London School of Economics (LSE), which measures social chatter as well as live TV, catch-up, on-demand and recorded viewing.
While the series finale of Doctor Who attracted just eight million viewers - less than half of Graham Norton's biggest May audience - it was the sci-fi show's surprise ending that dominated social media in May, with more than 16,000,000 related posts.
Chris Skinner, an LSE professor of statistics, said: "This algorithm goes beyond standard viewing figures to draw on new kinds of data, providing an alternate insight into the impact of TV programmes.
"The approach enables the strength of the audience to be measured and explored in three separate dimensions - viewing, engagement and sentiment - or for these three dimensions to be combined in a simple summary way."
It was Graham Norton that received the most positive response, with an online approval rating of 37% - very high considering most people only use social media to moan - largely thanks to a Fresh Prince of Bel Air reunion staged by celebrity guest Will Smith.
Despite ranking highly in the Hotlist, neither Britain's Got Talent (10%) nor The Voice (9%) were anywhere near the top in terms of positive sentiment.
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