Doctor Who producer denies ratings struggles

Eve of the Daleks, meanwhile, the Doctor Who new year special, attracted a live audience of just over 3.2 million, a decline of almost 400,000 from episode 6’s showing.

Here is a summary of the numbers, as reported by DoctorWhoTV.co.uk.

• Episode 1 - 5.69 million (4.43 live)
• Episode 2 - 5.02 million (3.95 live)
• Episode 3 - 4.59 million (3.76 live)
• Episode 4 - 4.47 million (3.44 live)
• Episode 5 - 4.72 million (3.81 live)
• Episode 6 – 4.53 million (3.58 live)
• Special – 4.30 million (3.21 live)

However, executive producer Matt Strevens considers these viewing figures “healthy for any drama on terrestrial”.

“What’s fascinating to me is the way Doctor Who viewing figures are obsessed over, unlike many other shows on TV,” he told Doctor Who Magazine. “And that’s fine, because I think it’s a testament to the fact that people are still always keen to read about Doctor Who. So that’s probably a positive thing.”

“I think they’re happy,” he added. “Of course, you get the odd juggernaut, like [2021’s] Vigil, but by and large, five-odd million is really healthy for any drama on terrestrial. And on streaming services, they can only dream of figures like that. So I think our ratings are really respectable.

A consolidated rating combines live viewership with people who watched via recording or catch-up service in the seven days after the initial broadcast, meaning additional viewers may catch-up at a later date.

“For me, what’s sometimes… frustrating is too strong a word… but when overnight figures are reported and compared to previous consolidated figures, in order to make the most dramatic headline, that’s a bit disingenuous. Especially when you look at the way television is consumed today. Doctor Who is available on iPlayer, so audiences can still watch it whenever and wherever they choose.”

He continued: “When you’re making a programme, you make the best show you can make, and you follow your instincts. You make the show that you want to watch. But you want to reach the widest audience possible, and you’re always wanting to make sure you can engage with all the demographics – especially the younger demographic, who don’t watch television in the way we watch it. That’s a challenge for all TV, and we’re conscious of it. But I don’t know if you bring that into the writers’ room, or the conversations about the sort of stories you want to tell, because that’s self-defeating."

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