Doctor Who drew an audience of less than 5 million viewers on its BBC One return last night (September 19), according to overnight data.

Series nine premiere ‘The Magician’s Apprentice’ could only summon figures of 4.58 million (21.2%) in its 7.40pm timeslot, more than 2 million less than last series’ opener and Peter Capaldi’s full debut ‘Deep Breath’ (6.79 million).

2012 premiere ‘Asylum of the Daleks’ with Matt Smith logged 6.38 million, and in 2011, first episode ‘The Impossible Astronaut’ entertained 6.52 million.

In 2010, Matt Smith’s first full appearance as the Doctor in ‘The Eleventh Hour’ appealed to 7.66 million.
Last night’s Doctor Who was also handily beaten by ITV’s The X Factor, which averaged 7 million (32.2%) from 8pm with a further 321k (1.6%) on +1.

‘The Magician’s Apprentice’ starred Capaldi, Jenna Coleman and Michelle Gomez, and saw the return of Dalek creator Davros.

News Source: BARB