Look Who's back! (Daily Mail)
- Publication: Daily Mail
- Date: 2005-12-26
- Author: Nicole Lampert
- Page:
- Language: English
The reilivenated Time Lord gives BBC Christmas ratings triumph
HE has vanquished aliens of all shapes and sizes since his triumphant reappearance on our screens nine months ago.
Now Doctor Who has emerged victorious from the Christmas ratings battle.
The rejuvenated Time Lord beat the celebrity version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire') and came second overall in the Christmas Day ratings, behind EastEnders
The hour-long show starring David Tennant. who replaced Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor, won 9.4m1111on viewers.
It also got El 42.7 per cent audience share, meaning nearly half of all those watching TV tuned in.
Coronation Street came third, with the same viewing figures as the sci-fi series, but a lower peak time viewing share. 41.2 per cent.
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? which was on ITV1 at the same time as Doctor Who, with stars including Terry Wogan, Alan Sugar and Louis Walsh, polled 6.3million viewers.
EastEnders was watched by the most viewers overall, with the hour-long special showing the departure or Kat Slater and Alfie Moon winning 10.1million viewers.
The result showed that the long-running soap may be turning a corner after a crisis two years which have seen ratings plummet
The Queen's Christmas broadcast was watched by nine million viewers across BBC1, BBC2 and ITV1 600,000 more than last year.
Her Christmas message, which this year focused on all the natural disasters of 2005, was watched by most on BBC1, with 6.2million viewers, while 1.7million tuned in on ITV1.
In the battle of the Christmas Day ratings BBC1 was the overall victor, screening seven out of the ten highest watched shows.
It also had a successful Christmas Eve with Its special edition Strictly Come Dancing polling nine million viewers against ITV1 favourites Ant and Dec on 5.9milllon.
But year on year, BBCI was down 7 per cent on peak-time ratings while ITV1 was down 5 per cent.
The biggest loser was Channel 4, whose highlight was Jamie Oliver's Alternative Christmas Message.
The channel's peak-time Christmas fare attracted only 2.3 per cent or viewers - less even than Five (6 7 per cent) and BBC2 (8 4 per cent).
A spokesman for BBC1 said. 'We are delighted that the audience turned to the BBC to be entertained this Christmas.
'It has been a wonderful climax to the year for Doctor Who and Strictly Come Dancing
And once again EastEnders proves to be the jewel in the Christmas schedule.'
An ITVI spokesman insisted that Christmas was not the channel's biggest time, adding 'Strong story lines in Emmerdale and Coronation Street, and a sequel to the hugely popular Booze Cruise drama, combined to bring peak audiences of 10.3inillion to ITV1 this Christmas.
'We are delighted that so many viewers enjoyed the festive schedules on offer this year'
The success of the Doctor Who special was particularly important to the BBC because It marked the arrival of Tennant as the Time Lord.
The Scottish actor took over after Eccleston revived the programme, only to depart after only one series.
Tennant, 34, has said that he will stay for at least two series, the first of which is due to start in the spring.
He told chat show host Jonathan Ross last weekend: 'As long as I don't get the sack I'll do a second series.
'The danger is that you get stuck with it, but the only other option is you don't do it.'
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- APA 6th ed.: Lampert, Nicole (2005-12-26). Look Who's back! (Daily Mail). Daily Mail .
- MLA 7th ed.: Lampert, Nicole. "Look Who's back! (Daily Mail)." Daily Mail [add city] 2005-12-26. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Lampert, Nicole. "Look Who's back! (Daily Mail)." Daily Mail, edition, sec., 2005-12-26
- Turabian: Lampert, Nicole. "Look Who's back! (Daily Mail)." Daily Mail, 2005-12-26, section, edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Look Who's back! (Daily Mail) | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Look_Who%27s_back!_(Daily_Mail) | work=Daily Mail | pages= | date=2005-12-26 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=2 April 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Look Who's back! (Daily Mail) | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Look_Who%27s_back!_(Daily_Mail) | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=2 April 2025}}</ref>
