Ratings Disaster

The overnight viewing figure for Eve of the Daleks is in - and it's pretty bad. Only 3.21 million. The figure will go up once +7 and +28 day figures are known, but the overnight figure is still poor. It is the second worst of the entire series - and that's since 1963, not just since 2005.

Here's the bottom 10:

1. Battlefield Part One - 3.10 million

2. Eve of the Daleks - 3.21 million

3. The War Games Part Eight - 3.50 million

4. Battlefield Part Three - 3.60 million

5. Full Circle Part Two - 3.70 million

= Trial of a Time Lord Part Four - 3.70 million

7. Trial of a Time Lord Part Three - 3.90 million

= Battlefield Part Two - 3.90 million

9. The Curse of Fenric Part Three - 4.00 million

= The Curse of Fenric Part Two - 4.00 million

As you can see, only 8 episodes have ever attained less than 4 million viewers on first broadcast. Half of the bottom 10 episodes come from the final season of the Classic era, when it was up against Coronation Street, but was also generally thought of by the public as well past its best, and a bit of an embarrassment.

Eve of the Daleks was amongst the top ten shows of the day - a day when TV viewing was down across the board - so people will attempt to dismiss this overnight figure as not noteworthy. But Specials have always enjoyed good ratings, compared to the later standard episodes of regular seasons, and this episode stands out like a sore thumb. People switched off in droves from Flux, but even its lowest figure far exceeds this one (Village of the Angels, with 4.57 million).

If people simply aren't watching TV at Christmas or New Year anymore, what does that mean for the future of these Specials? Should Russell T Davies simply decide not to bother anymore - and devote the time and money to benefit the regular season, or is he the person to re-establish them and make them once again an unmissable festive attraction? 

Christmas 2022 won't see any Doctor Who Special broadcast, nor might Christmas 2023, so that little break might allow for a successful relaunch.