Doctor Who fans said goodbye to the eleventh Doctor last night in the annual BBC Christmas special. The special featured a "regeneration" that showed the transition from the eleventh Doctor to the twelfth.

BBC reported that Doctor Who was the most-watched Christmas day television moment with 10.2 million viewers seeing the five-minute regeneration sequence.

Even though the Christmas special posted large numbers in the ratings, Mrs Brown's Boys Christmas special, also on BBC One, was the most-watched show this Christmas with an average of 9.4 million viewers.

8.3 million fans tuned into watch Matt Smith leave his role as the Doctor while ITV's Coronation Street averaged 7.9 million viewers, Independent reported.

Danny Cohen, director of BBC Television, spoke about the network overall and the Christmas tradition of showing specials. "I'm really proud of the quality and range of programs we've shown across BBC Television this Christmas. Much-loved shows like Doctor Who, Strictly, EastEnders and Mrs. Brown have been hugely popular with viewers this year," said Cohen.

Peter Capaldi will now be taking over for Matt Smith as the iconic Doctor.

image: Wikimedia Commons