Doctor Who fans are worried about Eurovision episode – but not for reasons you’d expect
Doctor Who viewers have shared a fear surrounding the Eurovision episode set to air ahead of the Song Contest this Saturday on BBC One.
Doctor Who viewers have shared a fear surrounding the Eurovision episode set to air ahead of the Song Contest this Saturday on BBC One.
The episode, The Interstellar Song Contest, sees the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) still trying to get Belinda (Varada Sethu) back home, to no avail. Instead, they land at an intergalactic space station where the 803rd Interstellar Song Contest is well underway – as you do.
But the grand night of musical madness from across the universe goes awry and becomes a battle to survive.
The episode has a host of exciting guest stars, including Rylan and Graham Norton, in what is the show’s most expensive episode ever made, leaving fans with concerns it could be gimmicky.
The episode is part of a jam-packed schedule for the BBC this Saturday, slotted in between the FA Cup final and the genuine Eurovision grand finale.
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The timings of two major live events have left fans concerned that the Doctor Who episode might be bumped from the schedule if the FA Cup final between Crystal Palace vs Manchester City runs over.
The night of musical madness becomes a battle to survive (Picture: BBC Studios/Bad Wolf/Lara Cornell)One fan raised the issue on Reddit, fearing it could lead the pricey episode to have lower ratings. @WanderingArtist2 wrote: ‘This incredibly expensive episode created to have brand synergy with Eurovision is sandwiched between the two broadcasts with no wiggle room. If the football goes into overtime, Doctor Who doesn’t broadcast. At least not on BBC1 or on Saturday.
‘This is a profoundly reckless bit of scheduling because if the football doesn’t get wrapped up neatly, Doctor Who will be relegated to alternate time slots or iPlayer, the viewing figures will crash and burn, and the brand synergy that the episode is built on will be redundant.
‘Even worse is that this episode is rumoured to be a Utopia-style lead-in to the finale, revealing Mrs Flood’s identity. If the episode doesn’t air in its usual timeslot, the finale doesn’t get that bump from the casual audience. This could easily be the least watched episode ever.’
The episode is the show’s most expensive episode ever made (Picture: BBC Studios/Disney/Bad Wolf/AP) Fans are concerned the episode might be bumped from the schedule (Picture: BBC Studios/Bad Wolf/James Pardon)Others shared similar fears on X. @baronessbamf wrote: ‘My knowing the new Doctor Who episode might not even air if the FA Cup final runs over and it’s Doctor Who’s most expensive episode and it’s not like they can just push Eurovision back.’
@MaveryCreates echoed: ‘Woah, Doctor Who might not have a TV broadcast at the scheduled time if the football overruns,’ while @KelseyGlamour94 added: ‘Be funny if the next episode of Doctor Who doesn’t air because of the whole footy and Eurovision thing only for it to turn out to be a really important episode (it feels like filler and that’s okay).’
Gatwa had been set to be the UK’s spokesperson during the voting, but dropped out due to ‘unforeseen circumstances’ and has now been replaced with Murder on the Dancefloor hitmaker Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
Some Whovians think it might be unnecessary fearmongering (Picture: BBC Studios/Bad Wolf/James Pardon)This led @RyanJL to post on X: ‘Oh. Watch the football run late and push Doctor Who out of the schedule now too.’
@TheCartoonLoon echoed: ‘So let me get this right. RTD specifically made this week’s Doctor Who to be about Eurovision and for it to air right before it’s live for it to be potentially ruined by the football AND THE DOCTOR BACKS OUT as spokesman. This is a disaster.’
But it isn’t all doom and gloom, as other Whovians said, this might be unnecessary fearmongering. @Dan2593 wrote on Reddit: ‘It’ll be fine. If it pays off it’ll get amazing viewership. It’s unlikely that game is over running. It’s all good.’
The schedule is a risk Russell T Davies is willing to take (Picture: BBC Studios/Bad Wolf/James Pardon)The decision to sandwich Doctor Who in the schedule between two major live events is a risk Russell T Davies has said he is willing to take.
He told SFX: ‘It’s going to be very, very interesting what happens. Honestly, that day it’ll be like, ‘Are we transmitting or not?’ They did run this past me and say, ‘Do you want to take that risk?’, and I said, ‘That’s the sexiest f***ing risk I’ve ever heard in my life. Let’s do it!’’
‘I will, probably for the first time in my life, be sitting watching the football wondering what’s going to happen. And I love it. My god, do you want this programme to make a noise or not?’
Doctor Who continues on Saturday on BBC One and iPlayer.
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