‘Doctor Who’ Is UK’s Most-Watched Drama On Christmas Day With 8.29M Viewers

The BBC‘s Doctor Who Christmas special, The Time Of The Doctor, was the most-watched drama, and the second most-watched program, in Britain yesterday. The show, which saw Matt Smith’s departure as the 11th Doctor, and Peter Capaldi’s entrance as the new Time Lord, was seen by 8.29M people for a 30.7% share according to the overnights. It also had the highest peak audience with 10.2M viewers at 8:25 PM, the last few minutes of the broadcast. Despite battering storms that left thousands without power on Wednesday, the figures are higher than last year’s festive ep which was seen by 7.59M people. After the show, the exiting Smith tweeted: “To the Whoniverse, thanks a million. You’re the best. I’ll miss you. And I’ll miss the madness.” On ITV, the Downton Abbey Christmas special, which aired in the 8:30-10:30 PM slot, picked up a 27% share with an average 7.01M viewers tuning in to see the Crawleys on a trip to London. The episode brought back Shirley MacLaine as Cora’s mother Martha Levinson, and introduced Paul Giamatti as her brother Harold. It was off last year’s Christmas special, which included the shocking death of Matthew Crawley, and was seen by 7.32M. Season Four is now officially over in the UK, but it starts Stateside on January 5th on Masterpiece on PBS.

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