Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies has defended the show’s ratings following changes to the release schedule.

The show has moved to a streaming-first release model, with each new episode of season 14 premiering at midnight on Saturdays on BBC iPlayer in the UK and on Disney+ worldwide, before airing on BBC One later the same evening.

This significant shift in the way Doctor Who is consumed has led to the show’s overnight ratings falling at times this year, although it’s important to note that these overnight figures do not take into account seven-day streaming figures.

According to The Radio Times, the showrunner addressed complaints about Doctor Who’s ratings at a question-and-answer event titled “Russell T Davies – BAFTA: A Life in Pictures.”

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“When I came back, I wanted to make it simpler and younger. These two things are often not talked about – you read the reactions to them and people miss it,” he explained.

“It’s simpler and younger – and it works. The under-16 and 16-34 audience is huge. The ratings aren’t that good, but it’s doing phenomenally well with the younger audience we wanted.”

Although some episodes of season 14 did not achieve the expected ratings overnight, there were also unexpected successes.

The Doctor-Lite episode “73 Yards” actually had the highest ratings of the season up to that point, but based on later ratings, another episode could well achieve even higher ratings.

Earlier this year, Davies defended signing an international streaming deal with Disney for season 14 to avert the end of Doctor Who.

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“In the long term, you have to reckon with the end of the BBC, which is undoubtedly coming in one form or another,” he said on the podcast They Like to Watch.

“Will Doctor Who die then? No! You have to be prepared for something like that.”

Doctor Who new episodes will be broadcast on Saturday at midnight on BBC One in the UK and Disney+ elsewhere. Classic episodes of Doctor Who are available in the UK on BBC iPlayer.

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