It does sometimes feel as if Public Image is caught in a time loop. In the 17 years since we reported the huge audience for Rose (Doctor Who Magazine issue 356), there have been some absolutely terrific ratings to write about, and plenty more that have been… perfectly ordinary. And every time Doctor Who’s viewing figures are ordinary, you’ll get a column like this one.
So, with that in mind, we can tell you that 4.40 million viewers watched Eve of the Daleks within seven days of transmission, making it the 26th most-watched programme of the week. Given that Revolution of the Daleks – shown on New Year’s Day 2021 – was seen by 6.36 million viewers and finished the week in tenth place, this marks a significant year-on-year decline. Indeed, Eve of the Daleks now has the unfortunate distinction of being the lowest-rated episode of Doctor Who since the show’s 2005 return, a record set by Village of the Angels (4.57m) just a few weeks earlier. It’s surprising that this has happened with a Special, as historically the seasonal one-offs have performed better than ‘regular’ episodes, with nearly all of them (bar 2019’s Resolution, at number 14) making the week’s top ten programmes. Traditionally, these Specials have succeeded in tempting extra viewers, who perhaps only watch Doctor Who once a year. So, why such a sharp decline in rating and chart position?