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"Steady Ratings Slide" to See 'Doctor Who' Move Back to Saturday Nights

There were concerns over the decline in audience.

By Lewis JefferiesPublished 5 years ago 2 min read
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Doctor Who [Credit: BBC]

New showrunner, Chris Chibnall, who took on the role after Steven Moffat, certainly took Doctor Who to a new level. With a new logo, new opening titles, new TARDIS, new companions, and most importantly, a new Doctor, the eleventh series divided viewers, as Jodie Whittaker was introduced as the hit BBC show’s first ever female Doctor.

Chibnall’s first series in charge of the show began airing in autumn 2018 after he decided to move the show from its usual Saturday night slot to Sunday nights, which didn’t go down well with fans at first. However, according to fresh new rumours, the show will be returning to its usual Saturday night slot following what is claimed to be a “steady ratings slide.”

Doctor Who [Credit: BBC]

According to insiders at the Mirror, Doctor Who bosses will be having the show return to Saturday nights because of a dip in the ratings during Jodie’s first series as the Doctor. The leaked report says:

"There is a feeling families are freer to watch on Saturdays than Sundays, when kids have homework to finish. While the show rated well overall, there were concerns over the decline in audience. Returning to Saturdays is being discussed as a likely option.”

This currently remains a rumour until the BBC or Chibnall himself confirms this rumour. It is noted that The Mirror were the first to report on the move to Sunday nights last year, as well as the axing of the Christmas Special, with both of these turning out to be true.

Doctor Who [Credit: BBC]

Whittaker’s first episode as the newly regenerated Time Lord was a massive success for the BBC, as the opening episode to Series 11, “The Woman Who Fell to Earth,” was watched by 11.4 million viewers from when it aired on October 7th to November 4th. Whittaker’s debut episode didn’t just beat former Doctor’s opening episodes, but it also beat the ratings to BBC One’s smash-hit thriller series, Bodyguard, which aired a few months before Doctor Who.

As the series went on, Doctor Who started losing large amounts of its audience every week. The overnight ratings for episode one (before hitting 11 million) achieved a wonderful 8.2 million viewers. The following week, episode two, “The Ghost Monument,” dipped down to 7.11 million. As the series went along, the finale, “The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos,” was watched by a slightly disappointing 5.32 million viewers overnight.

With the Christmas Special being moved to New Year’s Day in 2019, it has proved that this wasn’t a good idea by the BBC, as “Resolution” was watched by a measly 5.15 million viewers overnight, making it the least watched special so far. The episode saw the new TARDIS team face a rebuilt Dalek, attempting to take over the world. The consolidated figures for the special did jump up to 7.13 million viewers, and it is now out on DVD and Blu-ray.

Doctor Who [Credit: BBC]

Filming for Series 12 has begun and fans have spotted the cast and crew in Cape Town, South Africa, along with Cardiff, South Wales, which is Doctor Who’s main home. Fans unfortunately have a long wait for the twelfth series as Chibnall and the BBC have announced the show will be taking another gap year, meaning the next series won’t air until “very early 2020.”

At the same time as announcing Series 12 for 2020, the BBC confirmed Jodie Whittaker, Bradley Walsh, Tosin Cole, and Mandip Gill will all be returning to the show for a second series together. There’s no word yet as to what fans are expect in the upcoming series, however, Chibnall has hinted we may be seeing more familiar monsters and aliens.

scifi tv
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About the Creator

Lewis Jefferies

MA Media and Communication graduate from the University of Portsmouth - Massive Doctor Who Fan.

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