Doctor Who is making a big move to prioritise UK fans after previous backlash

It marks a small but notable shift from the previous season's model of episodes dropping at midnight on iPlayer - a full 19 hours before broadcasting on linear TV. In case you don't remember, let's remind ourselves - that caused quite the kerfuffle, and for good reason.

For one, it was the first time Doctor Who had moved away from being event TV or appointment viewing, which is perhaps impossible to avoid in the age of streaming. But, more prominently, many UK fans felt like the US viewership was being prioritised over UK viewers - especially in the aftermath of the deal with Disney.

While episodes would air between the very sociable hours of 4pm and 7pm on Fridays in the States (depending on the time zone), if UK viewers wanted to watch the episode immediately, they would need to stay up until 1am - which is of course fine for the teenage and early 20s demographic but less fine for those of us past the age of 25 who need our beauty sleep.

Although the episodes did land on iPlayer and Disney Plus simultaneously, the difference in time zones meant that, largely, US viewers would see the episodes before UK viewers.

But, while the new 8am drop of course isn't the ideal situation (that would be Doctor Who only ever airing on a dark Saturday evening when it's raining outside), it is a move in the right direction - and more than that, it means UK fans have seemingly been listened to and are being prioritised.

So, why's this important? Not to get all patriotic, but of course, the UK is home to Doctor Who and it's a British institution. It surely goes without saying that UK audiences should be prioritised (or at least not penalised) following the Disney deal.

It was also previously speculated that the midnight release in the UK was largely Disney's decision. At that stage, Disney Plus was all about its Friday releases and some fans wondered if the Saturday midnight release time in the UK was a side-effect of the streamer wanting to release in the US on Fridays.

Now, that's completely changed, with episodes set to air in the US on Saturday mornings from 12am to 3am. Whether or not this is an example of the BBC now standing its ground, it's impossible to say - but things are certainly looking better for UK viewers.

More importantly and more practically, though, the UK viewers form the biggest part of Doctor Who's viewership and are crucial to its success. With rumours swirling about the Disney deal and whether or not Doctor Who will be commissioned for another season on the platform, the show's future is a little uncertain.

If the deal does fall through, the show is going to need every one of its UK viewers on board if it's to continue to live on the BBC - so it cannot afford to alienate them with something as simple as its release time.

It could be argued that the release time isn't that important. Of course, when new episodes of Doctor Who season 14 were released at midnight, fans were free to watch them at any time of day - straight away in the middle of the night, the next morning, or even wait for the BBC One broadcast.

This was showrunner Russell T Davies's argument, as he previously said: "That’s the point: choice. You’re not having to change your habits to fit the show, the show is changing to fit you. And it’s changing to adopt the patterns of all modern TV shows. Yes, I think all of them, very soon. This is the future, and it’s here, right now."

The thing is (and this is meant with love), Doctor Who fans are perhaps the least casual viewers in the world. We absolutely cannot go about our day knowing there's a new episode out that we haven't seen. We absolutely cannot risk seeing any spoilers, and we absolutely will be prising our eyes open at 7:50am to watch the new episodes as soon as consciousness enters our bodies. So, for many of us, the new release model has in fact changed our viewing habits quite significantly.

But, while the days of waiting until 7pm to watch a new episode may be over for some of us, the 8am drop is a marked improvement compared to midnight. Doctor Who over a cuppa and a croissant anyone? Or should we say over a pumpkin spiced latte and a ham and cheese toastie?

Doctor Who will return on 12th April on BBC One and iPlayer in the UK, and Disney Plus internationally.

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