Doctor Who Series 13: 6 Big Reasons To Be Worried

Though it's clear that a lot of fans aren't happy with Doctor Who right now, it's the show's ratings that tell the BBC how well it's doing. Angry Twitter users are one thing, but cold-hard viewing figures are another.

Unfortunately for Doctor Who though, those viewing figures don't paint a much more positive picture than those angry Twitter users do. Ratings for the Chibnall era have been steadily declining since Series 11, a metric the BBC has surely noticed - and is surely quite concerned about.

To put things into context, Series 12 suffered some of the lowest ratings in NuWho history, with finale episode The Timeless Children ranking as the least-watched episode since 2005. Doctor Who might still draw more viewers than most other TV shows can dream of, but its viewership has almost halved over the last ten years or so, and there's just no way you can put a positive spin on that.

Here's an example: 2021 special Revolution Of The Daleks? 6.25 million viewers. 2011 special The Doctor, The Widow And The Wardrobe? 10.77 million.

Now sure, there are many other factors to consider with that specific comparison, but the point is, Doctor Who's ratings are in a bad spot, for Doctor Who standards. Based on these numbers, public interest seems to be waning, and Series 13 could end up with egg on its face if this downward trend continues.