How many people watched Doctor Who last night?

The overnight ratings are in and Doctor Who beat I’m A Celebrity by a comfortable margin as it returned for the first of three brand new episodes last night.

5.08 million watched Doctor Who on BBC One whilst 4.83m watched I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! on ITV1. Strictly Come Dancing comfortably won the ratings though, with 7.67m tuning in.

In The Star Beast, The Doctor is caught in a fight to the death as a spaceship crash-lands in London. But as the battle wreaks havoc, destiny is converging on the Doctor’s old friend, Donna. The episode saw fan-favourites David Tennant and Catherine Tate reprise their roles. It saw the introduction of a new look Tardis and a new character, the Meep!

The episode aired as part of the programmes 60th anniversary celebrations, which also includes a whole host of new and archived content available on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds. Fans universally praised the episode, the first new content from writer Russell T Davie.

Next Saturday, fans can see the second new episode, The Blue Yonder.