Doctor Who 'set for major schedule change' after falling ratings

The next series of Doctor Who is reportedly set for a major scheduling change, after the last series suffered falling ratings.

According to The Daily Mirror, BBC bosses are planning to shift the show from Sunday night back to its original slot of Saturday night.

A source told the paper: “There is a feeling families are freer to watch on Saturdays than Sundays, when kids have homework to finish.

“While the show rated well overall, there were concerns over the decline in audience. Returning to Saturdays is being discussed as a likely option.”

While Jodie Whittaker’s tenure as the new Doctor started well, with 8.2 million tuning in to first episode The Woman Who Fell To Earth, by the end of the series, audiences fell to around five million.

Thing picked up for the New Year’s Day special, shifted from the usual slot on Christmas Day, which earned 7.13 million viewers

Filming on the next series is already underway, with reports last week that Stephen Fry was spotted, wearing tweed, on set in Wales.

In other Doctor Who news, Alex Kingston, who played River Song in the series, has admitted she had reservations about Jodie Whittaker taking over from Peter Capaldi as the first female Doctor.

“To be honest, at first I was a little conflicted because I just thought, ‘All those little boys, how are they going to handle it?'” she told This Morning.

“But then I thought when Peter Capaldi played the Doctor, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, how are those young kids going to be able to relate to – sorry Peter – somebody who could be their grandfather?’

“But, they all totally embraced him and it’s because he is the Doctor and Jodie is the Doctor because it’s the same spirit inside so it doesn’t matter.”

Read more
Chinese broadcaster censors Rami Malek Oscar speech
Emma Thompson details Lasseter concerns in letter
Spike Lee angry over Green Book Oscar win