Doctor Who ratings revealed for first week of season 14
The numbers are in!
We now have a clearer picture of the ratings for Doctor Who's launch episodes, with confirmed audience figures for the first seven days following the first two episodes' release.
According to BARB, 4.01 million tuned in for Space Babies, and 3.91 million for The Devil's Chord. These figures are the seven-day consolidated ratings and include those who watched on BBC iPlayer from the show's release on Saturday.
Viewing figures for programmes on broadcast channels are consolidated seven-day viewing figures with pre-broadcast viewing and viewing on tablets, PCs and smartphones included.
Season 14 is the first to debut every episode early at midnight on BBC iPlayer, with episodes then airing on BBC One later the same day. While the move was met with some backlash, showrunner Russell T Davies later defended the decision, reasoning that viewers can watch whenever suits them.
The first episode, Space Babies, saw Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor and Millie Gibson's companion, Ruby Sunday, encounter a baby farm run by babies.
The second episode, The Devil's Chord, which guest-starred Jinkx Monsoon, followed the pair back in time to the 1960s to meet The Beatles and save humanity from Maestro, the villainous god of music.
Most recently, viewers tuned in to watch the return of former showrunner Steven Moffat, who wrote the tense and widely-praised episode Boom, introducing Varada Sethu, who's set to play a new companion in season 15 next year.
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As for what's next? We've got a mysterious adventure to the Welsh coast to look forward to in 73 Yards, with showrunner Davies recently teasing what's to come.
He said on the Official Doctor Who podcast: "I literally had to go and stand on Swansea Pier and work out exactly what 73 Yards was to make this story work - that'll make sense when you see it.
"This is Welsh folk horror coming up, with an astonishing cast...It's spooky, it's strange, it's genuinely unlike any other episode we've ever done before. We all found ourselves fascinated by making this. We had to test so much and get so much exactly right.
"It's very strange, 73 yards is very significantly important. Pay attention to those scrolls at the beginning and you might wonder what the message means - 'Rest in peace, Mad Jack.'"
Doctor Who continues on Saturday 25th May on BBC iPlayer and BBC One. Previous seasons are available to stream on BBC iPlayer with episodes of the classic series also available on BritBox – you can sign up for a 7-day free trial here.
Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
Louise Griffin is the Sci-Fi & Fantasy Editor for Radio Times, covering everything from Doctor Who, Star Wars and Marvel to House of the Dragon and Good Omens. She previously worked at Metro as a Senior Entertainment Reporter and has a degree in English Literature.
