According to ratings agency Eurodata TV Worldwide, House and his team of canny diagnosticians last year gathered more than 81.8 million viewers in 66 countries, representing a potential 1.6 billion couch potatoes.

That was far more than the 2007 and 2006 winners in the same TV drama category, “CSI: Las Vegas”, about a team of forensic experts, and its spin-off “CSI: Miami”.

In the TV comedy category, the U.S. female-star cast of “Desperate Housewives” for the second year running beat “Monk” (U.S.) and “Ugly Betty” (U.S.), attracting 65.3 million viewers worldwide in 2008.

“The Bold and the Beautiful”, also a U.S. show, with 24.5 million viewers was the most popular soap for the second consecutive year, thrashing Mexican telenovela “Marina” and U.S. competitor “The Young And The Restless.”