Tooth and Claw Overnight RatingsBookmark and Share

Sunday, 23 April 2006 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Initial overnight viewing figures for Saturday night's new Doctor Who episode Tooth and Claw on BBC1 have come in, and it's good news: an average of 8.9 million viewers watched the episode, with an average 42.3% audience share... a gain of nearly a million viewers over last weekend's "New Earth" which had an average of 8.0 million. According to the individual breakdown of 15-minute intervals, Doctor Who was reported peaking in its last quarter hour at 9.3 million viewers (43.1% share during that fifteen-minute period) and dropped off 4.75m viewers after the episode was over, but even more interestingly, in the ViewingFigures 5-minute interval breakdown, it actually peaked at 10.03 million (44.3%). This is higher even than the peak figure for the preceding FA Cup semi-final (9.91m, of which 1.4m switched off or over as Doctor Who began); this high-profile match was Saturday's second most-watched programme with an average figure of 6.6m (42.6%). ITV, meanwhile, proved no match for "Doctor Who" this week, sustaining just shy of four million viewers at the same time as the episode broadcast. "Doctor Who" is currently in the top-ten for the week's overnight ratings on British television in equal eighth place with Thursday's episode of EastEnders and outrating all five of Emmerdale's episodes. It's likely that 'Tooth and Claw' will end the week in ninth place, as another episode of Coronation Street screens on ITV1 on Sunday evenings, although other Sunday night programmes could yet push Doctor Who out of the top ten in the week's overnights. In comparison with the same weekend last year, 'Tooth and Claw' is well up on the performance of 'World War Three', which had overnights of 7.26m (38%).

Meanwhile, the BBC Three installment of Doctor Who Confidential at 8.00pm scored 616,100 viewers (with a 3.8% audience share), peaking at just after the start at 676,000. It was fourth for the evening on the list of non-terrestrial broadcast channels. And the second edition of Totally Doctor Who last Thursday pulled in 900,000 viewers (8.2%) in its 5pm slot, about the same as Blue Peter's audience size in the same timeslot. (Thanks to 'Shaun Lyon', Andy Parish)




FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 2/28