Written by
Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat,
The Day of the Doctor was
broadcast simultaneously on television and in the cinema to 94 countries around the world. The 75-minute episode aired on Saturday, November 23, 2013, exactly 50 years to the day that the first-ever episode of the science-fiction drama series aired in in the UK, and became the television event of the year.
The Day of the Doctor starred Matt Smith, David Tennant and John Hurt — all as the Doctor —
Tom Baker (the Curator), Jenna Coleman (Clara),
Billie Piper (the Moment) and featured a cameo of
the new Doctor, as played by Peter Capaldi.
The
Radio Times Audience Award is the only BAFTA award decided on by the general public, as opposed to film and television industry professionals. The other programmes nominated in this category were:
Breaking Bad,
Gogglebox,
The Great British Bake Off,
Broadchurch and
Educating Yorkshire.
According to Radio Times, during April and early May "tens of thousands of people" voted for
The Day of the Doctor via RadioTimes.com.
Doctor Who began on Saturday, November 23, 1963, with
An Unearthly Child, which starred William Hartnell as the First Doctor. Since then, 12 other actors have starred as the Doctor, a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, the newest being Capaldi, who is
currently filming his first full season.
Moffat described The Day of the Doctor as "a love letter to fans." The drama attracted 12.8 million viewers on UK television alone, making it the most-watched TV drama of the year. It also took the record for the most-requested programme on the TV catch-up service, BBC iPlayer, with
almost 3 million streams by the end of 2013.
At the UK box office, takings for
The Day of the Doctor reached in excess of £1.7 million, putting
Doctor Who at number three in the UK cinema box office in its week of airing. As
reported by Radio Times, worldwide, it made more than $10 million in movie theatres.
This year's ceremony for the Arqiva
British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards was held yesterday (Sunday, May 18) in London.
The
full list of winners included
Olivia Colman (Female Actor for
Broadchurch),
David Bradley (Supporting Actor,
Broadchurch), Ant and Dec (Entertainment Performance for
Ant And Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway),
In the Flesh (Mini-Series) and
Gogglebox (Reality and Constructed Factual).
