Doctor Who: Day of the Doctor is most popular non-festive episode since 2005 | TV ratings - 23 November (original) (raw)
It was the most anticipated episode of Doctor Who since the Saturday teatime favourite was regenerated in 2005 – and the most popular outside Christmas and new year holiday specials with just over 10 million viewers.
The Day of the Doctor, which saw the return of David Tennant and Billie Piper to the show and a special guest star turn by John Hurt, attracted an average audience of 10.2 million viewers, a 37.4% share, between 7.50pm and 9.05pm on Saturday.
It beat ITV's The X Factor (unlike the Doctor, Simon Cowell was not present at the fall of Arcadia), which drew 7.6 million viewers (28.6%) between 8pm and 9.30pm.
The Doctor Who 50th anniversary special pulled in more viewers than the 9.9 million who watched it return with Christopher Eccleston in the lead role in 2005.
It was only the fifth most-watched Doctor Who since then, behind three Christmas specials, in 2007, 2008 and 2010, and David Tennant's farewell, on New Year's Day, 2010.
The Christmas Day episode from 2007, Voyage of the Damned guest starring Kylie Minogue, with Tennant still in the lead role, remains the most popular Doctor Who of the new era in terms of overnight ratings, with 12.4 million viewers.
The audience for Saturday's episode will be several million viewers higher when timeshifted viewing is taken into account as well as people who watched it on the BBC's iPlayer.
Plus, unusually for a television show, there is the audience who watched it at the same time in 3D in cinemas in the UK and 94 countries around the world.
Spin-off show, BBC3's Doctor Who Live: The Afterparty, presented by Zoe Ball and Rick Edwards, drew 1.3 million viewers, a 5.4% share, between 9.05pm and 10.05pm, making it the most-watched show outside of the five main channels.
It was followed on BBC3 by Doctor Who: the Ultimate Guide, with 704,000 viewers (4.5%) between 10.05pm and 12.05am.
Doctor Who was not quite the most popular BBC1 show of the night, eclipsed by Strictly Come Dancing, watched by 10.6 million viewers, a 43.7% share, between 6.30pm and 7.50pm.
The third most popular show of the night was ITV's I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!, which beat stablemate The X Factor with 9.2 million viewers, a 38.9% share, between 9.30pm and 10.30pm.
Top 5 rating Doctor Who shows since 2005
1. Christmas Day, 2007 12.4 million
2. Christmas Day, 2008 11.7 million
3. New Year's Day, 2010 10.5 million
4. Christmas Day 2010 10.3 million
23 November 2013, 10.2 million
All ratings are Barb overnight figures, including live, +1 (except for BBC channels) and same day timeshifted (recorded) viewing, but excluding on demand, or other – unless otherwise stated. Figures for BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 generally include ratings for their HD simulcast services, unless otherwise stated
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