Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder ratings revealed

The Star Beast became the biggest drama launch of 2023, as well as achieving the biggest overnight ratings for an episode of the sci-fi series since Resolution in 2019, with an overnight audience of 5.08 million.

The viewing figures for Wild Blue Yonder are yet to take into account the amount of people who watched the show via catch-up, which will be available after seven days.

Strictly was the night's big winner with 7.82 million, while I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! managed 5.05 million.

Unlike The Star Beast, Wild Blue Yonder had been shrouded in secrecy ahead of its release, with very little known about the plot or the cast.

The episode pitted David Tennant's Fourteenth Doctor and Catherine Tate's Donna Noble against evil versions of themselves at the edge of the universe, with fans quick to praise Tennant and Noble's performances after watching the episode, as well as the scenes featuring weird body horror and psychological creepiness.

The third 60th anniversary special, The Giggle, will soon be upon us, marking the return of one of the Doctor's oldest enemies, The Toymaker (now played by Neil Patrick Harris).

The episode will be the last hurrah before we meet Ncuti Gatwa's hotly-anticipated Fifteenth Doctor.

Doctor Who's third 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.

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