Repeat Ratings

Saturday, 1 May 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Friday's BBC Three repeat of The Time of Angels was watched by 0.32 million viewers according to overnight figures. Doctor Who Confidential got 0.22 million watching.




FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 5/31

Week 6 Schedule Update

Wednesday, 28 April 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Vampires of VeniceDoctor Who moves to its earliest slot since the series returned, for The Vampires Of Venice with the programme, on 8th May, now confirmed for a start time of 6pm.

The earlier spot appears to be to accommodate a longer edition of Over The Rainbow. It is understood that the production team of the talent show were reluctant to be scheduled against Britain's Got Talent and wanted Doctor Who to be moved to an earlier slot.

Doctor Who will be up against You've Been Framed on ITV1, Dad's Army on BBC Two and Come Dine with Me on Channel 4.




FILTER: - UK - Series 5/31 - Broadcasting

Victory of the Daleks - Final Ratings

Tuesday, 27 April 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Victory of the DalekFinal figures for Victory of the Daleks published today by BARB show the story was watched by 7.82 million viewers.

The total is over 1.5 million higher than the initial overnight reported figure.

The programme was the fourth highest on BBC One and the eleventh highest on all British television for the week. An additional 0.381 million watched on BBC HD, however as this week's episode was not simulcast with the BBC One showing, the figures are not added onto the final total. Even if they were the programme would still be eleventh in the chart.

This is the first time the programme has dropped out of the top ten since the series four story, Silence in the Library, which was 27th. Since then the number of iplayer requests for the programme have dramatically increased.

The BBC Three Sunday repeat did not appear in the top ten for the week for that channel.





FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 5/31

Formal Apology

Tuesday, 27 April 2010 - Reported by Marcus
The BBC has formally replied to the complaints received over the Nortongate incident.

The response goes further than the statement issued by a spokesman yesterday which just apologised for the timing of the caption. The formal response admits the caption was wrong and promises it will not happen again.

The BBC statement says
The Over the Rainbow trail in Doctor Who should not have played out on Saturday and we apologise to all Doctor Who fans whose enjoyment of the show was disrupted. We recognise the strength of feeling that has been expressed and are taking steps to ensure that this mistake will not happen again.

It is understood that the instruction to run the caption was made by BBC One management and was made without consulting the programme's producers or senior management at BBC Wales.




FILTER: - UK - Series 5/31 - Broadcasting

Time of Angels - AI

Monday, 26 April 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Time of AngelsThe Time of Angels scored an Appreciation Index figure of 87, the highest of the series so far.

The AI or Appreciation Index or AI score is a measure of how much an audience enjoyed a programme. The score was the highest of the day on either of the two main channels.

Doctor Who Confidential had an AI figure of 84.

On BBC Three the Doctor Who repeat was watched by 0.55 million.

The BBC has updated its story on the controversial trail for Over the Rainbow which spoiled the cliff-hanger for many, reporting that, so far, 5,583 complaints have now been received.

The children's news programme Newsround is also asking for viewers feelings on the intrusion.




FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 5/31

BBC apologises for advert intrusion

Sunday, 25 April 2010 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Norton PromoAfter thousands of complaints about the trailer featuring an animated Graham Norton promoting Over The Rainbow during the closing moments of Doctor Who last night, the BBC have apologised for the occurrence.

In an article on the BBC News site:
The BBC often promotes programmes in this way but the corporation has acknowledged that in this case the scheduling was inappropriate.

A BBC spokesman said: "We apologise for the timing of Saturday night's trail."

The BBC received around 3000 complaints about the incident which affected viewers to BBC One in England.





FILTER: - UK - Series 5/31 - Broadcasting

Time of Angels - Audience Figures

Sunday, 25 April 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Time of AngelsThe Time of Angels was watched by 6.8 million viewers according to unofficial overnight figures.

BBC One had 6.5 million watching with an additional 0.3 million watching on BBC HD. The total share was 36.7%. Doctor Who was again the second most watched programme of the day with Britain's Got Talent getting 10.5 million. Third placed was Casualty with 5.5 million watching.

The cartoon Graham Norton didn't prevent over two million leaving BBC One once Doctor Who finished. The average audience for BBC One between 7.00-7.05 was 7.01 million and the average between 7.05-7.10 was 4.81 million.

Overall Doctor Who currently stands at twelfth for the week with a final top ten place almost certain.

On Multi-Channel Television, Doctor Who Confidential received 0.57 million viewers on BBC Three, with an additional 57,000 watching on BBC HD.






FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 5/31

The Return of Norton

Sunday, 25 April 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Norton PromoGraham Norton's second appearance in Doctor Who has provoked a storm of complaints, with many viewers upset at the appearance of a cartoon version of the Irish comic over the cliffhanger of the BBC One showing of The Time of Angels.

The appearance seems to be a bid by the BBC to prevent viewers leaving the channel once Doctor Who has aired. Last week nearly two million viewers left BBC One at the end of Victory of The Daleks. The appearance came at the climax of the episode, covering part of Matt Smith's face. Once the credits were rolling another promo for the Dorothy programme was broadcast.

A number of comments on Twitter have complained about the intrusion with critic Charlie Brooker tweeting "Why don’t the BBC just wipe s*** all over the screen during the final scene of Dr. Who next week? I hope Moffat is bellowing down a phone to someone right now." Simon Pegg, who starred in The Long Game, added "Congrats to the BBC for ruining the climax to Doctor Who with a cartoon Graham Norton telling about another xxxxxx talent show."

Graham Norton first made his presence felt during the first showing of Rose, when crossed wires resulted in a audio feed of his BBC Three programme being transmitted across the first episode of the relaunched Doctor Who series.

Anyone with strong feelings on the appearance can make a complaint via the BBC website, or by phone to 0370 010 0222.






FILTER: - UK - Series 5/31 - Broadcasting

New BBC One ident

Friday, 23 April 2010 - Reported by Anthony Weight

The MediaGuardian website has made available a video of a new BBC One ident for its Saturday night line-up, created for the channel by Aardman Animations, the company behind the award-winning Wallace and Gromit series, amongst many other successful projects. The ident - used to identify BBC One and provide a backdrop to continuity announcements introducing each programme - features the Eleventh Doctor assisting Graham Norton in battling a Dalek attack on BBC Television Centre, and highlights Doctor Who along with its Saturday night stablemates Total Wipeout and Over the Rainbow.




FILTER: - UK - Broadcasting

Cybermen for DVD

Tuesday, 20 April 2010 - Reported by Marcus
The British Board of Film Classification has cleared a trailer for a forthcoming double DVD release of Revenge of the Cybermen and Silver Nemesis.

Revenge of the CybermenRevenge of the Cybermen is a fourth Doctor story first shown in 1975. As well as Tom Baker it stars Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith and Ian Marter as Harry Sullivan. Written by Gerry Davis, the co-creator of the Cybermen, and Robert Holmes, the story is set on Nerva Beacon and on Voga the fabled planet of gold. It was the first story for the Cybermen since they appeared in the 1968 second Doctor story The Invasion and their last until Earthshock in 1982. Other cast members include Ronald Leigh-Hunt, Christopher Robbie, Jeremy Wilkin, William Marlowe, Michael Wisher, Kevin Stoney and David Collings. This story was the first Doctor Who story to be released on VHS in October 1983 with a retail price of £39.99.

Silver NemesisSilver Nemesis was a seventh Doctor story, first shown in 1988. Alongside Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor, the story starred Sophie Aldred as Ace. Written by Kevin Clarke the story was part of the 25th year celebrations for the series. Other cast members included David Banks, Mark Hardy, Anton Diffring, Courtney Pine, Fiona Walker and a special appearance from film star Dolores Gray. In 1993 an extended version of this three-part serial was released on VHS. It is understood that this special edition will not be included on the DVD release, nor, due to rights issues, will the accompanying VHS documentary.

There is no date announced for this release, but the classification of the trailer indicates the stories are likely to be available in July.




FILTER: - UK - Tom Baker - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD - Sylvester McCoy