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BBC Doctor Who Guinness

Doctor Who broadcast becomes world's largest TV drama event

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By Steven Raeburn, N/A

November 25, 2013 | 2 min read

More than 1.3 million Australians tuned in to the Doctor Who fiftieth anniversary special, contributing to what is now understood to be the largest audience for a dramatic presentation in broadcast history.

A Guinness certified world record telecast

In the UK, more than 10.1 million viewers watched the programme, although the country’s largest TV audience on the day was for its evergreen celebrity dancing programme, Strictly Come Dancing.

The programme was simultaneously broadcast and shown in cinemas in 94 countries. 424,000 tuned in to the simulcast in Australia at 6.20am on Sunday morning. Guinness has certified the simulcast as a world record.

"We knew we were attempting something unprecedented in broadcast history, not only because Doctor Who is a drama, unlike a live feed event such as a World Cup football match or a royal wedding, but because we had to deliver the episode in advance to the four corners of the world so that it could be dubbed and subtitled into 15 different languages,” said Tim Davie, chief executive of BBC Worldwide.

"If there was any doubt that Doctor Who is one of the world's biggest TV shows, this award should put that argument to rest – and how fitting for it to receive such an accolade in its 50th year."

In Australia, Sixty Minute’s interview with former Michael Jackson doctor Conrad Murray was the most watched single programme of the evening.

BBC Doctor Who Guinness

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