Doctor Who will air on Sunday nights at 6.45pm on BBC One, it has been announced.
The scheduling means Strictly Come Dancing and The X Factor will go head to head in the Sunday night ratings war when the dance show’s results episode moves into a later timeslot to make way for the return of the sci-fi drama.
Strictly will air at 7.50pm rather than 7.15pm on BBC One on October 7, following Doctor Who at 6.45pm, while The X Factor will continue on ITV at 8pm.
The adventure begins Sunday 7th October.UK: 18:45 on @BBCOne US: 13:45 (EST) on @BBCAmerica.Check local listings in other countries.#DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/GPUaxEn3o2
— Doctor Who Official (@bbcdoctorwho) September 26, 2018
BBC’s drama The Cry, starring Jenna Coleman, will air against ITV’s big-budget costume drama Vanity Fair for two weeks in the 9pm timeslot.
Strictly Come Dancing’s first live show of the series, which aired on Saturday, was the most-watched programme of the day across all channels, the BBC said.
The BBC One broadcast, which saw the 15 celebrities and their partners take to the dancefloor for the first time in an episode lasting nearly two-and-a-half hours, attracted an average audience of 8.9 million and a peak of 10 million.
It marked an increase on the launch show on September 9, which had an average of 8.1 million with a peak of 8.5 million in the overnight ratings.
✨ A HUGE first live show for #Strictly last night with a peak of 10 million tuning in! An average audience of 8.9m and a mega 47.3% audience share ✨
— BBC Strictly Press (@bbcstrictlyPR) September 23, 2018
The X Factor, which aired on ITV after Strictly ended, pulled in an average of five million viewers and a peak of 5.6 million.
The most recent episode of Doctor Who, which aired on Christmas Day and featured Jodie Whittaker’s debut as the Time Lord and Peter Capaldi’s finale has overnight ratings of 5.7 million.