The Doctor and Clara check to see who’s watching.
Last issue, Public Image analysed the effect of the Rugby World Cup on Doctor Who ’s ratings – which have, as much discussed, taken something of a knock this year. While the 2014 series averaged 7.26 million viewers in consolidated BARB figures, the first five episodes of this year’s run ranged between 5.63 and 6.56 million – averaging 6.10 million. So with the lure of the rugby over, how has Doctor Who performed since then?
The answer is: pretty much the same. Episode 6, The Woman Who Lived, had a consolidated rating of 6.11 million after the usual seven days’ worth of catch-up viewers were considered, giving the episode a position of 25th on the weekly TV chart. ITV’s The X Factor, meanwhile, returned as the Doctor’s competition, with a consolidated audience of 7.77 million (plus 0.41 million on ITV+1) – which was a low-ish rating by the singing show’s usual standards.