Bah humbug? Not on the Doctor’s watch. This Christmas, “Doctor Who” is set to deliver a festive wallop of time travel, dinosaurs, and a healthy dose of peril, starring Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor and featuring “Bridgerton” alum Nicola Coughlan. Check out the just released trailer below.
Titled “Joy to the World,” this year’s Christmas special finds the Doctor encountering Joy, played by Coughlan, amidst the bustling holiday season in London. Joy stumbles upon a peculiar time-bending hotel, a discovery that inevitably leads her to a fateful meeting with the Time Lord. From there, it’s anybody’s guess where Steven Moffat’s script will take them, but given his track record with the series, it’s safe to say it won’t be a quiet night by the fire. Moffat, after all, is known for crafting intricate and often menacing plots.
The special also introduces a cast of characters caught in the holiday chaos, including Anita (Steph de Whalley), Melnak (Jonathan Aris), Trev (Joel Fry), Basil (Peter Benedict), Hilda (Julia Watson), and Sylvia (Niamh Marie Smith). With dinosaurs on the loose and a major threat looming over Earth, it appears the Doctor has his work cut out for him this Christmas.
Gatwa returns as the fifteenth Doctor in his first holiday special, helming the TARDIS under the watchful eye of returning showrunner Russell T. Davies. Alex Sanjiv Pillai, with credits on “Riverdale” and, fittingly, “Bridgerton,” takes the directorial reins.
“Joy to the World” will air Christmas Day at 9:10 a.m. PST / 12:10 p.m. EST on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK and Disney+ internationally. Season two of Gatwa’s “Doctor Who” is slated for 2025..
