This is because the show\u2019s fate in its current form rests with Disney Plus<\/a>, who the BBC did a deal with for the new era.<\/p>\n Not only does Disney distribute the series internationally, it also helps to finance it, meaning that while the show could continue without the streamer, its budget may have to be slashed.<\/p>\n The question of the show\u2019s future following what have been described as season 14\u2019s \u201cunderwhelming\u201d ratings<\/a> was raised in a recent article in The Times<\/a>, and now the BBC has weighed in.<\/p>\n A BBC spokeswoman told the publication: \u201cOvernight ratings no longer provide an accurate picture of all those who watch drama in an on-demand world.<\/p>\n \u201cThis season of Doctor Who premiered on iPlayer nearly 24 hours before broadcast, and episode 1 has already been viewed by nearly 6 million viewers and continues to grow.<\/p>\n \u201cDoctor Who remains one of the most-watched programmes on iPlayer and is the BBC\u2019s top drama for under-35s this year, making it one of the biggest programmes for the demographic across all streamers and broadcasters.\u201d<\/p>\n This statement lines up with a comment previously made by showrunner Russell T Davies<\/a>, who said: \u201cIn coming back, I wanted to make it simpler and I wanted to make it younger. Those two things are often not discussed \u2013 you read reactions to it and people are missing that.<\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s simpler and younger \u2013 and it is working. The under-16s and the 16-34 audience, as well, is massive. It\u2019s not doing that well in the ratings, but it is doing phenomenally well with the younger audience that we wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n Hopefully these assurances will calm fans\u2019 nerves about the show\u2019s future. It certainly appears that Davies seems hopeful, as he has already started writing season 16<\/a>.<\/p>\n The writer has also confirmed that \u201cthere are offices that exist\u201d that are dedicated solely to planning potential spin-offs, although what these would be focused on is currently unclear.<\/p>\n Doctor Who will return at Christmas on BBC iPlayer and BBC One.<\/strong>\u00a0Previous seasons are available to stream on\u00a0BBC iPlayer<\/a>\u00a0with episodes of the classic series also available on BritBox \u2013 you can sign up for a\u00a07-day free trial here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Check out more of our\u00a0Sci-Fi<\/a>\u00a0coverage or visit our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Streaming Guide<\/a>\u00a0to see what\u2019s on tonight.\u00a0<\/strong>For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to\u00a0<\/strong>The Radio Times Podcast<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n The broadcaster also noted that the first episode of the season has already been watched by nearly 6 million viewers – and continues to grow. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":53854,"template":"","categories":[1,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/06\/bbc-defends-doctor-who-ratings-as-show-is-top-drama-for-under-35s-this-year-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/06\/bbc-defends-doctor-who-ratings-as-show-is-top-drama-for-under-35s-this-year-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/06\/bbc-defends-doctor-who-ratings-as-show-is-top-drama-for-under-35s-this-year-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/06\/bbc-defends-doctor-who-ratings-as-show-is-top-drama-for-under-35s-this-year-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/06\/bbc-defends-doctor-who-ratings-as-show-is-top-drama-for-under-35s-this-year-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/06\/bbc-defends-doctor-who-ratings-as-show-is-top-drama-for-under-35s-this-year-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/06\/bbc-defends-doctor-who-ratings-as-show-is-top-drama-for-under-35s-this-year-2048x1365.jpg",2048,1365,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"The broadcaster also noted that the first episode of the season has already been watched by nearly 6 million viewers - and continues to grow.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/53853"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Millie](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/06\/481952-d55fa5e.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"481952,Doctor")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>\n
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