This Week In DOCTOR WHO History: June 14th To June 20th

A tear Sarah Jane? Oh no hang on, wrong Doctor...

Click on any red text to read our full retrospectives/reviews for that episode. All dates and viewing figures are for UK premier broadcasts unless otherwise stated.

June 14th

The penultimate episode of The War Games, and indeed the Second Doctor's era was broadcast on this day in 1969. Episode nine of the ten part saga drew an audience of 4.1 million viewers. Almost double that amount, 8.05 million, were tuned into the Tenth Doctor story Midnight when it was broadcast on this day in 2008.

June 15th
The Tenth Doctor's sad because not one single Doctor Who episode has received its premiere broadcast on this day. It's actually only the second Who free day of the year so far. The Summer schedule's must be coming which means that, sadly, many more Who free days are to come in the next few weeks, meaning more tears for Ten.

June 16th
As well as being Carole Ann Ford's (Susan) birthday, June 16th also saw episode five of The Green Death broadcast in 1973 to an audience of 8.3 million viewers. Skipping ahead to new-Who and the Tenth Doctor was about to catch up with an old nemesis after a trip to Utopia. First broadcast in 2007 at 7:15pm, and guest starring Derek Jacobi as Professor Yana/the Master, this episode was watched by 7.84 million viewers.

June 17th
Episode 5 of The Evil of the Daleks was broadcast on this day in 1967. It's missing from the BBC archives now so only the lucky 5.1 million viewers tuned in got to see it in all its glory. Then we have another episode 5, this time its from the Third Doctor adventure The Time Monster. The 1972 story drew an audience of 6 million on its debut broadcast.

Also on this day, it's one of the best Doctor Who stories since the show's revival (a-hem), consistently topping fan polls as the favourite new-Who adventure (A-Hem), and featuring the most popular monster the series has ever created - the Abzorbaloff (A-HEM!!!), yes ladies and gentlemen it's Love and Monsters. Broadcast on this day in 2006 at 7:00pm, and watched by a slightly disturbing 6.66 million viewers.

Let that wash over you <shudder>6.66 million!</shudder>

Last up today for televisual adventures is the Twelfth Doctor adventure The Eaters of Light which premiered on BBC One in 2017 at 6:45pm and was watched by 4.73 million viewers.

Two birthday's of note today, one of which happens to be the Thirteenth Doctor herself. Jodie Whittaker was born this day in 1982, and she shares her birthday with Arthur Darvill, aka Rory Williams, who was also born the same year. Happy Birthday to you two.

June 18th
On this day in 1966 4.5 million people tuned in to episode 4 of The Savages, a story that came very near the end of the First Doctor's era.

And then we jump 39 Years and eight regenerations into the future (well, nine with the War Doctor) and it really was the end of an era, as a 'fantastic' 6.91 million tuned in to see the Ninth Doctor say goodbye in The Parting of the Ways.

June 19th
We start with a death today as on June 19th 1965 an episode called The Death of Doctor Who was broadcast. Spoiler alert: As the 9 million people watching will tell you, the Doctor didn't actually die! He couldn't really as there was still one more episode of The Chase to go after this, not to mention the 55 more years and counting worth of adventures to be had.

Also on this day we have episode five of The Dæmons. Broadcast in 1971 at 6:10pm, this Third Doctor's classic adventure was watched by 8.3 million viewers. Moving on to new-Who and 7.58 million were tuned in to the penultimate episode of the Eleventh Doctor's debut season. That Matt Smith always gave good speech, as evidenced here in 2010s The Pandorica Opens.

June 20th
The opening episode of the 1964 6-part serial The Sensorites (titled Strangers in Space) was broadcast on this day in 1964 at 5:14pm and watched by 7.9 million viewers. Also we close out another week in Doctor Who history with the seventh and final episode of Inferno which was broadcast in 1970 at 5:15pm, with the Third Doctor's debut season signing off to a respectable 5.5 million viewers.

That's it for this week, but did you watch any of these adventures live? We'd love to hear your memories about any of them. Tell us in the comments below.

Until next Sunday...