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Young female viewers top boys in 'Doctor Who' ratings

Ben Arnold
·Contributor
Girls beat boys in watching Doctor Who (Credit: BBC)
Girls beat boys in watching Doctor Who (Credit: BBC)

Girls under 16 flocked to see Jodie Whittaker’s debut as the Doctor in the new season of Doctor Who, stats show.

BARB ratings released on The Woman Who Fell To Earth show that 378,000 girls watched the first episode, compared to 339,000 boys under 16.

Broadcast reporter Robin Parker tweeted the findings, which also added a bit of context too – this compares to 143,000 girls watching last year’s series debut, compared to a huge 390,000 boys.

It adds to the already sterling numbers the veteran sci-fi show brought in on the occasion of introducing its first ever female Doctor.

Whittaker’s debut was watched by more people than David Tennant, Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi’s debuts, while in all, a massive 8.2 million tuned in.

That’s a 40.1 percent audience share, and also significantly more than the first episode of recent ratings topper The Bodyguard.

(Credit: BBC)
(Credit: BBC)

That show went on to be the highest-rated show the BBC has seen in over a decade.

A host of guest stars are lining up for the series ahead, including Julie Hesmondhalgh, Alan Cumming, Lee Mack, Mark Addy, Phyllis Logan and Sex and the City star Chris Noth.

New episode The Ghost Monument airs on BBC One this Sunday.

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