Posted in: BBC, Disney+, Doctor Who, TV | Tagged: bbc, bbc iplayer, bbc one, doctor who, ghosts

Doctor Who, Ghosts Help Bring BBC Big Christmas Day Viewing Numbers

Russell T. Davies's Ncuti Gatwa & Millie Gibson-starring Doctor Who special & the Ghosts finale brought big numbers to the BBC for Christmas.

It was an impressive debut for Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor & Millie Gibson's Ruby Sunday – and a pretty impressive performance by the BBC overall on Christmas day. The Russell T. Davies-penned Doctor Who Christmas Special "The Church on Ruby Road" was just one of the big viewing highlights from the holiday – and now that the numbers are in, we're seeing just how impressive those viewing numbers were. Released earlier today, Doctor Who Christmas Special: "The Church on Ruby Road" was seen by 4.7M viewers – only behind The King's Christmas Broadcast (BBC One) with 5.9M viewers and Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special (BBC One) with 5.3M viewers, and ahead of Ghosts Christmas Special (BBC One) with 4.4M viewers.

"Bringing people together at Christmas matters to audiences, and securing nine of the top ten shows demonstrates how much they value the BBC's Christmas Day line-up. We entertained viewers in their millions on Christmas Day with a range of quality programmes you really can't find anywhere else to wrap up an outstanding year of creative content on the BBC," shared Charlotte Moore, BBC's Chief Content Officer. Here's a look at the Christmas Day top ten viewing numbers:

Here's a look back at the teaser trailer that was released on Christmas Day, with Doctor Who set to return to BBC, BBC iPlayer & Disney+ screens in May 2024:

Doctor Who: Looking Ahead to Series 14/Series 1 & Series 15/Series 2

A big update on Christmas Day, with the official teaser & press release for Season 1 confirming Yasmin Finney returning as Rose Noble. Along with Jemma Redgrave (Kate Lethbridge-Stewart), Aneurin Barnard (Roger ap Gwilliam), and Jack Forsyth-Noble (Will), Doctor Who Magazine #589 also confirmed that Bhav Joshi (Wedding Season), Eilidh Loan (Traces), Pete MacHale (Gangs of London), Miles Yekinni (Slow Horses), and Hemi Yeroham (Mamma Mia!) have joined the cast for the new series. In addition, Jinkx Monsoon (RuPaul's Drag Race) was also confirmed to have joined the cast – followed by Jonathan Groff (Glee, Mindhunter) and Indira Varma (Obsession, Game of Thrones) – as The Duchess – in May 2023.

Bonnie Langford was confirmed to be returning as Melanie Bush in June 2023, along with Lenny Rush (Am I Being Unreasonable) as Morris. In early August 2023, we also learned that Gemma Arrowsmith (Gemma Arrowsmith Sketched Out) and Mary Malone (Vera, The Prince) had joined the Christmas Special – while Majid Mehdizadeh-Valoujerdy (Hollyoaks) and Billy Brayshaw (Still So Awkward) had joined the Series 14 cast. In November 2023, we also learned that Nicola Coughlan (Derry Girls, Bridgerton) was set to guest star in the 2024 Christmas Special. On the writing side, we learned late last month that Kate Herron (Loki, Sex Education) & Briony Redman (Pont Brec) had co-written the episode that Groff and Varma are starring in during the upcoming series.

And here's a look at composer Murray Gold, Segun Akinola, and the BBC National Orchestra performing our upcoming Doctor's new theme – along with some words from RTD near the end:

Here's a look back at a video showcasing Gold & Akinola's new take on the Doctor Who theme:

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