Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor Who Christmas special 2023 ratings revealed

The special was the most watched scripted show on Christmas Day 2023.

By James Hibbs

Published: Wednesday, 27 December 2023 at 11:26 AM

The viewing figures are in for this year’s Doctor Who Christmas special, The Church on Ruby Road, which aired on Christmas Day, the first episode of the show to do so since 2017.

The episode had an overnight rating of 4.73 million, which marks a slight uptick when compared with the third of the 60th anniversary specials, The Giggle, which scored 4.62 million overnight viewers (and 6.85 million consolidated over seven days).

However, this figure was lower than the overnight ratings for The Star Beast, which became the biggest drama launch of 2023 with 5.08 million overnight viewers and a consolidated figure of 7.61 million over 7 days, and Wild Blue Yonder, which scored 4.83 million overnight viewers and 7.14 million consolidated.

The consolidated viewing figures for The Church on Ruby Road will be available after seven days, and will take into account the amount of people who watched the show via catch-up.

Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson in the Doctor Who Christmas special The Church on Ruby Road
Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson in the Doctor Who Christmas special The Church on Ruby Road
BBC Studios 2023,Lara Cornell

The Church on Ruby Road was the third most watched show on Christmas Day, coming only behind The King’s Christmas Broadcast (with 7.48 million viewers) and the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special (with 5.29 million viewers). This means it was the most watched scripted show on Christmas Day this year.

Read more:

The next season of Doctor Who will debut on BBC One and Disney Plus internationally in May 2024, with a trailer being released following the broadcast of The Church on Ruby Road.

In the trailer, we got our first glimpse of some of the season’s guest stars, including Indira Varma and Jonathan Groff, as well as the Doctor and Ruby’s adventure with the Beatles in the 1960s.

Michelle Greenidge, who played Carla Sunday in the Christmas special and whose character is expected to recur throughout the upcoming season, recently gave RadioTimes.com her reaction to Ncuti Gatwa’s performance as the Doctor.

She said: “Ncuti was born to play the Doctor, his energy and individuality make him perfect for the role. When I got the job, one of the things that really excited me was the fact that I was on this journey with Ncuti, from the beginning of this part of his career.

“He’s just sprinkled his little magic on it. He’s hugely charismatic and he has a flair about him, a natural flair, where you’re just gripped by everything he says…”