A number of new publicity images to promote this week's episode of Doctor Who, The Ghost Monument Episode Two Trailer | The Ghost Monument | Doctor Who: Series 11

This series will debut on BBC One at 6.55pm.

Main Broadcast Details
United Kingdom	BBC One	Sunday 14th October	6:45pm BST
United States of America	BBC America	Sunday 14th October	8.00pm EDT
Canada	SPACE	Sunday 14th October	8.00pm EDT
Australia	ABC	Monday 15th October	6.00pm AEST

Full listings here

Doctor Who: The Woman Who Fell to Earth was watched by 8.2 million viewers, a share of 40.1% of the total TV audience, according to unofficial overnight figures.

The audience grew throughout the episode, peaking at 8.52 million for the final fifteen minutes.

The rating makes Doctor Who the third highest rating of the week, just behind two editions of Strictly Come Dancing.

It is the highest overnight rating for the series for a regular episode for over ten years. The debut episode of the Twelfth Doctor, Deep Breath, had an overnight rating of 6.8 million viewers, while the debut episode of The Eleventh Doctor, The Eleventh Hour, had 7.7 million, with 0.3 million also watching on BBC HD, making a total of 8.0 million. The last regular episode to top this figure was Journey's End in 2008, with an overnight figure of 9.4 million.

The highest rating for Sunday was for the results show of Strictly Come Dancing with an average of 9.04 million watching.

ITV's highest-rated programme was The X Factor, with 4.69 million watching. Against Doctor Who, 5 Gold Rings had 2.71 million watching.

Official figures, which will be released next Monday, will include those to recorded the episode and watched it later. They are expected to be considerably higher than the initial figures.

Press reaction to the new season of Doctor Who is overwhelmingly positive with Jodie Whittaker winning many plaudits for her first full episode as the Thirteenth Doctor

The Independent led the praise for the lead actress's performance. " After all the hype, hyperbole and inevitable internet hate, she acquits herself wonderfully in her full-length debut. Whittaker is a force of breezy nature – rambunctious, quirky but with a reassuringly familiar aura of Gallifreyan uncanniness."

The Guardian loved the interaction between the main characters. "The new Doctor and her team – 19-year-old Ryan, his old schoolmate turned police probationer Yasmin, and Ryan’s step-grandfather Graham (Tosin Cole, Mandip Gill and Bradley Walsh respectively) – have heart and soul, and are set against a comforting background of West Yorkshire women – especially Ryan’s nan – talking common sense as alien life and electrical pulses erupt around them."

Whittaker was also praised by the Telegraph who said the actress shined in a flawed but fun Doctor Who debut. "There has been a depressingly predictable knee-jerk backlash to a time-travelling, body-regenerating extraterrestrial with two hearts having the temerity to be female but this debut adventure barrelled straight past such quibbles. After mere minutes of the Doctor’s arrival – crashing through the roof of a train in Sheffield, having fallen from the Tardis at the climax of the Christmas special – you stopped noticing"

Digital Spy was sure Jodie Whittaker's Doctor is going to be everybody's new hero, and noted how her sex is irrelevant. "For all the buzz, positive and negative, that surrounded Whittaker's casting as the first female Doctor, what her first few scenes make abundantly clear is how unimportant the character's gender really is. It's completely and utterly incidental, a point which 'The Woman Who Fell to Earth' makes not through words – the transition from old to new is discussed no more here than it has been in previous Doctor's debuts – but through actions."

Den of Geek says series 11 premiere finds Doctor Who in rude health. "Whittaker certainly makes an impact in her opening scene - quite literally, as she falls through the roof of the train and meets her new companions. The script cleverly wastes no time in having her do some proper ‘Doctor business’ - fending off an alien, casually dismissing a death in favour of the mystery at hand and persuading police officer Yas not to call for reinforcements. Whittaker shines pretty quickly in these scenes, and has every bit of the quiet intensity of her predecessors."

Variety felt the episode fulfilled a difficult brief. "Striking the right balance has been a tall order for any new Doctor and showrunner to take on, as several pairs have done over the last decade, but the level of difficulty this particular team had to master is arguably the highest yet. That’s why it’s so impressive that “The Woman Who Fell to Earth” is, for the most part, an extremely typical episode of “Doctor Who."

NPR loved the characterisation of The Doctor "With her rich Northern accent (the actress was born in Yorkshire), Whittaker's Doctor isn't posh or effete — no bow ties or fezzes for her. Instead, she radiates pragmatism (if pragmatism is a thing that can radiate) and a decidedly middle-class, we're-all-in-this-together enthusiasm."

Finally, the Los Angeles Times says Doctor Who returns in thrilling fashion. "The new Doctor has both authority and energy; she is playful yet mature, a little mad but not manic, funny and agile and perhaps will turn out a shade less judgmental than some of her predecessors. Chibnall has given Whittaker a lighter brief: “I’m the Doctor,” she declares, “sorting out fair play throughout the universe.” And later, in that soft Yorkshire accent, “Sometimes I see things that need fixin’ and do what I can.”

The Doctor Who News review can be found on our reviews site.

The BBC has released a number of new publicity images to promote this week's return of Doctor Who, The Woman Who Fell to Earth This series will debut on BBC One at 6.45pm.

Main Broadcast Details
United Kingdom	BBC One	Sunday 7th October	6:45pm BST
United States of America	BBC America	Sunday 7th October	1.45pm EDT
Canada	SPACE	Sunday 7th October	1.45pm EDT
Australia	ABC	Monday 8th October	5.55pm AEST

Full listings here

This week's Radio Times features the Thirteenth Doctor, in the person of Jodie Whittaker, who makes her full debut on screens around the world next Sunday.

It's the second Cover as The Doctor for the actress, who featured on the 21st July edition

Inside Whittaker talks about how nervous she was about playing one of the most intelligent characters on TV, and her hopes that the debate on casting women in traditionally male roles will soon be redundant. Whittaker says the rock band Coldplay helped inspire her costume. Doctor Who returns on Sunday 7th October, showing on BBC One at 6.45pm

Radio Times is now on sale in the United Kingdom.

The BBC have released the first full clip from the upcoming series of Doctor Who

FIRST LOOK: Episode 1 | The Woman Who Fell To Earth

The new series begins on Sunday 7th October.

SPACE Canada have confirmed that they will join BBC America by broadcasting the new series of Doctor Who at the same time it is seen in the UK.

The first episode will transmit at 1.45pm Eastern Time, with a repeat in primetime at 8pm ET.

Following the premiere, all-new episodes of Doctor Who will debut in their regular Sundays at 8pm ET timeslot beginning October 14.

Pat DiVittorio, Vice-President, Programming, CTV and Specialty, said The episode will be part of SPACE Freeview, running until 24 October.

Freeview is available through participating television service providers across the country, including Bell, Bell Aliant, Cogeco, Eastlink, Bell MTS, Rogers, Sasktel, Shaw, Shaw Direct, Telus, and Videotron, and others. The first episode of the highly anticipated new season of Doctor Who will also be available on demand via set-top-box for all for Bell, Rogers, Telus, Shaw, and Eastlink subscribers from October 8 to November 7.

The BBC has confirmed that Doctor Who will debut in the UK at 6.45pm on Sunday 7th October.

The first episode of the new series, The Woman Who Fell To Earth, will run from 6.45pm-7.45pm on BBC One, bringing the series to the heart of Sunday evening.

Doctor Who will air directly after Countryfile, which is watched by between 4 and 6 million viewers each week. It will be followed by Strictly Come Dancing - The Results where the public voting for the BBC One dance show will be revealed to the public.

ITV will be offering a game show in opposition, 5 Gold Rings presented by Philip Schofield. BBC Two will be showing King Arthur's Britain: The Truth Unearthed a new documentary delving into the murky historical period of the Arthurian legends, while on Channel 4 viewers can enjoy Phil Spencer's Stately Homes, where the property expert returns to look round more of Britain's stately homes, beginning with Longleat House in Wiltshire. Channel 5 is showing the 2013 feature film Jack the Giant Slayer.

BBC America has confirmed the episode will be simulcast with UK showing, making a transmission time of 1.45pm ET

The BBC have released a number of images from this today's press launch in Sheffield for the new series of Doctor Who - the event saw lead writer Chris Chibnall on the red carpet with Jodie Whittaker (the Doctor), Tosin Cole (Ryan), Mandip Gill (Yaz), Bradley Walsh (Graham), Sam Oatley, Jamie Childs (Director) Matt Strevens (Executive Producer) and Segun Akinola (Composer).

A full report on the event will appear on Doctor Who News on Thursday.

The event was also covered on the BBC's national News At Six and regional news Look North this evening, both of which can be watched in the UK via the BBC iPlayer until their next edition tomorrow evening.

The Thirteenth Doctor, as played by Jodie Whittaker, has arrived in Sheffield for the press screening of the new series later today.

The event is preceded by a red carpet parade of stars from the show, attened by some lucky fans who won tickets in a public ballot.

The first episode The Woman Who Fell to Earth, was filmed in the city. More pictures from the red carpet event will be released later today.