Doctor Who's The Day of the Doctor loses to Strictly in TV ratings

More viewers chose to watch the dance show than the 50th anniversary special

The Doctor (Matt Smith) with current assistant Clara (Jenna-Louise Coleman) (BBC)

Ballroom dancing triumphed over time travel this weekend as the hotly-anticipated 50th anniversary Doctor Who special, The Day Of The Doctor, lost out to Strictly Come Dancing in the Saturday night ratings war.

Bruce Forsyth's waltzing family favourite pulled in 10.6 million viewers on average compared to the Time Lord special's 10.2 million.

Broadcast for 75 minutes, The Day Of The Doctor starred Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman alongside past favourites, including David Tennant, Billie Piper and John Hurt.

The 50th anniversary special was the fifth most-watched episode of Doctor Who since the BBC rebooted the series in 2005, and set a Guinness World Record for the largest global simulcast of a TV drama ever.

Fans in 94 countries watched The Day Of The Doctor, which was simultaneously shown in 3D across 200 UK cinemas and in the US, Canada, Germany and Russia.

Head writer Steven Moffat said: "For years, the Doctor has been stopping everyone else from conquering the world. Now, just to show off, he's gone and done it himself!"

More than 1,500 cinemas screened the episode worldwide, while in London, 8,000 fans in fancy dress converged on Canary Wharf's ExCeL Centre for a Doctor Who festival.