Series 9 averages 6 million viewers
Series 9 of Doctor Who averaged 6.03 million viewers in the UK, the consolidated ratings have revealed.
With its climactic conclusion, Hell Bent, being watched by an official audience of 6.17 million, the figures make the specially extended episode the least most watched series finale since 2005, just behind Series 5’s The Big Bang which attracted 6.7 million back in 2010. Meanwhile, Series 9 as a whole is also slightly down on last year’s which averaged 7.4 million. This year’s highest rated episode was, understandably, its highly publicised premiere with 6.54 million viewers.
After 10 years, Doctor Who still continues to be one of the most successful shows on TV with showrunner Steven Moffat affirming that the series has never been more popular. However, he has recently suggested that it “is not built to go out at 8.25pm”, with incumbent Time Lord Peter Capaldi agreeing that it “doesn’t belong” in a later time slot.
Click here to Rate and Discuss this year’s epic series finale… the long way round!
I think it’s quite easy to blame the low ratings on the timeslot. At the end of the day, if people wanted to watch it, they would. Series eight was a pretty poor series and it put people off watching series nine (which although I didn’t enjoy a whole lot, it was much better than series eight!) Moffat blames the low ratings on the late time and yet his writing is much more tailored to adults than children. He wants an earlier slot and yet writes complicated stories even adults find confusing. I do think it is time he stepped down and let someone else have a go, after all, Peter could be an incredible Doctor!
@Katie Well said!. :)