Doctor Who's The Star Beast becomes highest rated episode in 5 years
A huge moment for the sci-fi.
Doctor Who's highly-anticipated first 60th anniversary special, The Star Beast, has become the highest rated episode in five years.
The special, which saw David Tennant and Catherine Tate return after 15 years, boasted an audience of 7.6 million according to BARB data, which includes catch-up figures after seven days.
The last episode to rival that figure is The Tsuranga Conundrum in 2018, Jodie Whittaker's fifth episode as the Thirteenth Doctor, which was watched by 7.76 million viewers.
The Star Beast has become the biggest drama launch of 2023, also boasting a respectable overnight audience of 5.08 million.
The episode saw Tennant's Fourteenth Doctor and Tate's Donna Noble reunite, also bringing Yasmin Finney's Rose Noble into the action for the first time.
We also met the menacing Meep, voiced by Miriam Margolyes, and, of course, got our first glimpse at the gorgeous new TARDIS.
The latest Doctor Who episode, Wild Blue Yonder, saw the Doctor and Donna facing deadly doppelgangers of themselves at the edge of the universe and also marked the return of the late Bernard Cribbins as Wilfred Mott.
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With just one 60th anniversary special left to go, fans will see the return of one of the Doctor's oldest enemies, The Toymaker, this time brought to life by Neil Patrick Harris.
We'll also finally get to meet Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor – and we're sure we've got plenty more surprises coming our way, with a whole host of other guest stars on the way.
Doctor Who's third 60th anniversary special The Giggle airs at 6:30pm on Saturday 9th December on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Previous episodes are available on BBC iPlayer and 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 find out what's on.
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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.
