Over the so-called “festive fortnight”, Doctor Who was seen 10.01 million times on streaming platform, iPlayer, leading the BBC to boast over “record-breaking festive viewing”.

So what does that 10.01 million streams actually mean?

First of all, it’s an amazing figure, no matter what. Doctor Who pulls in a huge number of viewers still — however, it’s certainly not solely for The Church on Ruby Road, Ncuti Gatwa’s first full episode as the Fifteenth Doctor which was broadcast on Christmas Day. In fact, that special alone was streamed 1.79 million times over the two week period, i.e. from 19th December 2023 to 1st January 2024.

Yes, that’s a big figure, and adds into the 4.73 million overnights, rising to a final figure of 7.49 million viewers.

That means the other 8+ million streams were for older episodes, so the brand is looking strong, even if it’s fuelled partly by nostalgia. And as Doctor Who‘s 60th anniversary year came to a close, that’s still cause for celebration. Were they buoyed on by seeing Who back on Christmas Day? It’s certainly possible.

The 10.01 million figure puts it in fifth place on iPlayer, behind Hey Duggee (10.12 million), Bluey (10.42 million), Vigil (10.96 million), and EastEnders which pulled in an astonishing 26.28 million streams. There is a huge jump between Doctor Who and, in sixth place, Mrs Brown’s Boys, which attracted 4.64 million. Plus, it beat perennial favourites like Death in Paradise, Gavin and Stacey, and Ghosts.

So whether they were watching The Church on Ruby Road, The Giggle, The Eleventh Hour, The Robots of Death, Spearhead from Space, or The Daleks, people still love watching Doctor Who!