Editing Doctor Who (section)

===United Kingdom===
[[File:MCM Expo Oct 2009 - TARDIS (4042460628).jpg|left|thumb|The image of the [[TARDIS]] is iconic in British popular culture. Here, a woman is [[Cosplay|dressed]] as a TARDIS.]]
Premiering the day after the [[assassination of John F. Kennedy]], the first episode of ''Doctor Who'' was repeated with the second episode the following week.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lawson |first=Mark |date=30 September 2022 |title=JFK derails Doctor Who, plus the drama that was too terrifying to show: 100 years of the BBC, part five |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/sep/30/jfk-doctor-who-bbc-pythons-mathc-of-the-day-dads-army |access-date=9 February 2024 |work=The Guardian|issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Farnell |first=Chris |date=9 June 2023 |title=Debunking Doctor Who Urban Legends: Daleks, JFK, and River Song's Dirty Joke |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/debunking-doctor-who-urban-legends-daleks-jfk-river-song/ |access-date=9 February 2024 |website=Den of Geek}}</ref> ''Doctor Who'' has always appeared initially on the BBC's mainstream [[BBC One]] channel, where it is regarded as a family show, drawing audiences of many millions of viewers;<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kuiper |first=El |date=20 November 2023 |title='Doctor Who' Is Bigger Than Ever—Find Out Where It's Streaming |url=https://www.themarysue.com/where-is-doctor-who-streaming-answered/ |access-date=9 February 2024 |website=The Mary Sue}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gearan |first=Hannah |date=14 November 2023 |title="Quite Violent": 1 David Tennant Doctor Who Special Is "Not For Children," Showrunner Warns |url=https://screenrant.com/doctor-who-60th-anniversary-not-for-children-showrunner/ |access-date=9 February 2024 |website=ScreenRant}}</ref> The programme's popularity has waxed and waned over the decades, with three notable periods of high ratings,<ref name="ratings chart">{{cite news|first=Matt |last=Hilton |title=Doctor Who—Top Chart Placing&nbsp;– 1963–2008 |url=http://www.gallifreyone.com/picview.php?ret=news&sub=news&id=season4_final_4.jpg |work=Doctor Who News Page |publisher=[[Outpost Gallifrey]] |date=16 July 2008 |access-date=16 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080719041204/http://www.gallifreyone.com/picview.php?ret=news&sub=news&id=season4_final_4.jpg |archive-date=19 July 2008 }};{{Cite web |last=Hilton |first=Matt |date=11 January 2008 |title=Doctor Who Top Ratings: 1963–2007 |url=http://www.gallifreyone.com/picview.php?ret=news&sub=news&id=2007_ratings.jpg |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080315003100/http://www.gallifreyone.com/picview.php?ret=news&sub=news&id=2007_ratings.jpg |archive-date=15 March 2008 |access-date=17 July 2008 |website=Doctor Who News Page |publisher=[[Outpost Gallifrey]]}}</ref> but has become a significant part of British [[popular culture]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=ICONS. A Portrait of England |url=http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/doctor-who |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071103085551/http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/doctor-who |archive-date=3 November 2007 |access-date=16 May 2025}}</ref> The most popular period for the programme's history was the "[[Dalekmania]]" period ({{circa|1964–1965}}), when the popularity of the Daleks regularly brought ''Doctor Who'' ratings of between 9 and 14 million, even for stories which did not feature them.<ref name="ratings chart" /> The second was the mid to late 1970s, when Tom Baker occasionally drew audiences of over 12&nbsp;million.<ref name="ratings chart" />

[[File:Cardiff - Dr Who Experience.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|Exhibits in the ''Doctor Who Experience'', [[Cardiff Bay]], in 2015]]
During the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] network strike of 1979, viewership peaked at 16&nbsp;million.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ratings Guide |url=https://guide.doctorwhonews.net/info.php?detail=ratings |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116040406/https://guide.doctorwhonews.net/info.php?detail=ratings |archive-date=16 November 2020 |access-date=26 March 2020 |website=Doctor Who Guide}}</ref> Figures remained respectable into the 1980s, but fell noticeably after the programme's 23rd series was postponed in 1985 and the show was off the air for 18 months.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Elvy |first=Craig |date=20 November 2019 |title=Why Doctor Who Was Cancelled In The 1980s |url=https://screenrant.com/doctor-who-cancelled-1980s-why/ |access-date=9 February 2024 |website=ScreenRant}}</ref>

Its late 1980s performance of three to five million viewers was seen as poor at the time and was, according to the BBC Board of Control, a leading cause of the programme's 1989 suspension. Some fans considered this disingenuous, since the programme was scheduled against the ITV soap opera ''[[Coronation Street]]'', the most popular show at the time.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ley |first=Shaun |date=29 May 2013 |title=Was Doctor Who rubbish in the 1980s? |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-22628484 |url-status=live |access-date=22 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410021937/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-22628484 |archive-date=10 April 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Douglas |first=Torin |date=8 December 2010 |title=Why Corrie is an enduring TV hit |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-11935400 |url-status=live |access-date=22 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410044950/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-11935400 |archive-date=10 April 2019}}</ref> During Tennant's run (the third notable period of high ratings), the show had consistently high viewership, with the Christmas specials regularly attracting over 10&nbsp;million.<ref name="ratings chart" />

The BBC One broadcast of "[[Rose (Doctor Who episode)|Rose]]", the first episode of the 2005 revival, drew an average audience of 10.81&nbsp;million, third highest for BBC One that week and seventh across all channels.<ref name="ratings chart" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=16 July 2008 |title=Weekly Viewing Summary: Terrestrial Top 30&nbsp;– Week ending 6 July 2008 |url=http://www.barb.co.uk/viewingsummary/weekreports.cfm?report=weeklyterrestrial&requesttimeout=500 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080713233601/http://www.barb.co.uk/viewingsummary/weekreports.cfm?report=weeklyterrestrial&RequestTimeout=500 |archive-date=13 July 2008 |access-date=16 July 2008 |website=[[Broadcasters' Audience Research Board]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hilton |first=Matt |date=16 July 2008 |title=Journey's End: Officially Number One |url=http://www.gallifreyone.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?id=EkEykpAEuAeSoAAghE&tmpl=newsrss&style=feedstyle |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080719155722/http://www.gallifreyone.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?id=EkEykpAEuAeSoAAghE&tmpl=newsrss&style=feedstyle |archive-date=19 July 2008 |access-date=16 July 2008 |website=Doctor Who News Page |publisher=[[Outpost Gallifrey]]}}</ref> By late 2007, the revival had also garnered the highest audience [[Appreciation Index]] of any drama on television.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wright |first=Mark |date=1 November 2007 |title=These sci-fi people vote |work=[[The Stage]] |url=http://blogs.thestage.co.uk/tvtoday/2007/11/these-scifi-people-vote/ |url-status=dead |access-date=9 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080409164855/http://blogs.thestage.co.uk/tvtoday/2007/11/these-scifi-people-vote/ |archive-date=9 April 2008}}</ref>

On 29 April, 2017 [[Guinness World Records]] named ''Doctor&nbsp;Who'' the longest running sci-fi programme with the airing of its 819th episode.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/longest-running-science-fiction-tv-series |title=Most prolific science-fiction tv series |website=Guinness World Records |access-date=16 May 2025}}</ref> It had previously been awarded the title of "most successful"<ref name="Miller">{{Cite news |last=Miller |first=Liz Shannon |date=26 July 2009 |title='Doctor Who' honored by Guinness |work=Variety |url=https://variety.com/2009/biz/news/doctor-who-honored-by-guinness-1118006512/ |url-status=dead |access-date=8 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090801070428/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118006512.html?categoryid=14&cs=1&nid=2562 |archive-date=1 August 2009}}</ref> science fiction series in 2009, based on its broadcast viewership, as well as book and DVD sales.