Doctor Who viewing figures lowest since show returned 12 years ago

Ratings for the latest series of Doctor Who were the lowest since the programme returned to screens in 2005, new figures show.

The BBC One favourite attracted an average audience of 5.5 million during its latest run, which ended on 1 July.

This was down half a million on the figure for the previous series in 2015, and almost two million below the average ratings for 2014.

The 2017 series – the last to feature Peter Capaldi in the title role – also saw the lowest audience to date for a single episode: 4.7 million, which 0 The 2017 series was the last to feature Peter Capaldi was recorded for story The Eaters of Light, broadcast on 17 June.

Capaldi’s first story as the Doctor, Deep Breath, had an audience of 9.2 million. Doctor Who has now clocked up ten series since it was revived in 2005, and has seen a total of four actors piloting the Tardis: Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith and Capaldi.

Ratings remained steady for much of this period, with every series from 2005 to 2014 averaging between seven and eight million viewers.

Only in recent years have audiences started to fall.

The next Doctor is due to be revealed in the 2017 Christmas episode, which will also be the last to be produced by Steven Moffat, who has been in charge of the show since 2010.

Mystery surrounds the identity of the actor who will replace Capaldi as the Doctor.