Time Slot will change later in Series

The start time of Series Four of Doctor Who is likely to return to 7.00pm around Episode Five or Six according to the BBC's internal magazine Ariel.

The show's Executive Producer, Russell T. Davies, interviewed at the Series Four Press launch, admitted he would have preferred a later time slot, but was diplomatic about the scheduling decision which he said last week could lose the show a million viewers.

"It's not a time slot I agree with, but I know that no one wants to damage the brand", he said calmly. "In the past we’ve got higher figures when it went later, but it will shift later on in the run, around episode five or six, which the BBC was going to do anyway."

Also at the launch Ariel spoke to Jane Tranter, BBC controller BBC Fiction who thanked the "loyal, professional and all round excellent team" in Cardiff, most of whom have worked on all 56 episodes. "The success of Doctor Who is to a great extent theirs," she said. Tranter described new companionCatherine Tate as "the most empathetic, big hearted and extraordinary of the Doctor's companions", praising her "versatility, bravura and humanity as an actress".

Meanwhile David Tennant promised the series four finale would be the "biggest, boldest, maddest, saddest, most exciting story we've ever done".