BBC reveals time slot for first episode of Doctor Who series 11

The new slot places Doctor Who directly after BBC stalwart Countryfile (airing 5.45-6.45pm) and before the weekly results show for Strictly Come Dancing, which moves to the later time of 7.45pm.

• Doctor Who to move from Saturdays to Sundays for new era
• New Doctor Who stars hit the red carpet for series 11 premiere

Interestingly, the new schedule puts Doctor Who close to the 7pm time it often used to air on Saturday nights when the series first returned in 2005.

Given that this first episode is 15 minutes longer than most of the new series – The Woman Who Fell to Earth runs at 60 minutes, while other episodes will be 50 minutes long – it could be that a return to 7pm is planned from episode two onwards.

After all, the placement of the Strictly Come Dancing results show at close to 7.50pm suggests that in future weeks the BBC might be anticipating a 50-minute show to precede it…

Still, this is all speculation, so for now fans will just have to make do with finally knowing what time to plonk themselves in front of the TV this Sunday 7th October, to properly meet the Thirteenth Doctor for her first adventure.

To quote the latest series trailer, it’s about time.

Doctor Who series 11 begins to BBC1 on Sunday 7th October at 6.45pm

This article was originally published on 26 September 2018