Doctor Who achieved mediocre ratings last night as it returned for its six-part autumn run, early viewing figures suggest.
'Let's Kill Hitler', Matt Smith's "favourite episode to date", achieved an average of 6.23m (28.7%) at 7.15pm.
Doctor Who Confidential then grabbed 468k (2%) for BBC Three between 8pm and 8.45pm.
However, Saturday's instalment was more popular than June's mid-season finale 'A Good Man Goes To War, which mustered 5.5m at the earlier time of 6.40pm.
The BBC was widely criticised earlier this year for showing episodes during the 6pm hour, after audience figures indicated that the sci-fi drama was in decline.
However, showrunner Steven Moffat argues that the family show's high BBC iPlayer audience makes up for the lower overnight ratings.
Currently 'Let's Kill Hitler' tops iPlayer's 'Most Popular' list, while BBC Three will air catch-ups every Friday evening.
Mid-series premieres often get higher audiences than the previous episode. I expect these to fall off rapidly over the remaining few weeks.
