Well, the discussion about the audience figures for The Eleventh Hour and the rest of the new series of Doctor Who looks set to rumble on, but one thing is certain – television has changed.

Thanks to SFX, we now know that Matt Smith’s UK debut as the Doctor in The Eleventh Hour was seen by 10.08 million viewers, an adjustment of around 2 million viewers. This final figure includes BBC HD viewers and includes BBC iPlayer, Virgin Media on demand and Sky+ viewings.

It’s a far cry from being the lowest opening of any of the new Doctor Who series – in face it’s only slightly behind Rose, and is the second highest series opener yet!

This list makes the whole situation clearer:

Most Watched New Who Episodes
(by final viewing figures, including HD figures where relevant)

1 Voyage Of The Damned – 13.31 million
2 The Next Doctor – 13.10 million
3 The End Of Time Part Two – 12.18 million
4 The End Of Time Part One – 11.91 million
5 Rose – 10.81 million
6 Journey’s End – 10.57 million
7 The Waters Of Mars – 10.32 million
8 The Eleventh Hour – 10.08 million
9 The Christmas Invasion – 9.84 million
10 Planet Of The Dead – 9.74 million

If this doesn’t shut The Guardian up, similar final figures for The Beast Below will certainly help…