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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Katie Rosseinsky

Doctor Who suffers lowest ratings since 2005 revival

Season 12 of Doctor Who (Picture: BBC )

Doctor Who has slumped to its lowest ratings since the programme was revived in 2005, according to new viewing figures.

The final episode of the 12th series of the BBC's sci-fi show attracted a TV audience of just 4.6 million.

This is just below the previous all-time low of 4.7 million, which was set by an episode in 2017.

TV audiences across the latest series averaged 5.3 million.

The latest series kicked off on January 1 (BBC / BBC Studios)

This is also the lowest since Doctor Who was relaunched 15 years ago.

It is a stark turnaround in fortunes for the show, where ratings saw a boost when Jodie Whittaker took over the title role at the start of 2018.

Audiences had been declining before she stepped into the Tardis.

But Whittaker’s first series scored the highest average ratings for Doctor Who in nearly a decade.

Her second series, which came to an end on March 1, failed to repeat this kind of success.

This year’s series appears no fewer than six times in a top 10 of the least-watched Doctor Who episodes since 2005.

The BBC has already confirmed Jodie Whittaker will return as the Doctor in a festive special at the end of 2020, along with regular companions Tosin Cole, Bradley Walsh and Mandip Gill.

All figures are consolidated ratings for TV audiences, compiled by Barb.

With reporting by Press Association.

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