Summary
Doctor Whohas unveiled the first look at its upcoming Christmas Special duringSan Diego Comic-Con. The Christmas Special has been an ongoing tradition for the sci-fi series since its return in 2005, with 2023’s “The Church on Ruby Road” bringing the series back to the timeslot for the first time since 2017. The episode typically includes a guest star as a new companion for the Doctor, and for this year’s special,Bridgertonstar Nicola Coughlan will join Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor.
Now, our first official look atDoctor Who’s 2024 Christmas Special has been revealed during the show’s panel at SDCC, where Screen Rant was in attendance. As the Doctor visits various corners of human history with an order for an unknown guest, Joy (Coughlan) arrives at the Sandringham Hotel, as chance encounter with a suited Siluian brings the duo together. Check out the clip, below:
Why Is The Doctor Traveling Alone In Doctor Who’s 2024 Seasonal Special?
Season 14 Left The Time Lord Distressed And Unsure.
Moffat used seasonal specials to challenge the Doctor at that current stage in his life.
Despite putting on a happy face during his visits across history, the Time Lord is currently in a vulnerable place. While his Bigeneration from the Fourteenth Doctor (David Tennant) gave the Fifteenth Doctor an opportunity to put his multiple lives worth of trauma behind him,Doctor Whoseason 14’s endingleft him questioning whether he had a positive impact on the universe after being made a pawn in Sutekh’s (Gabriel Woolf) plot to bring death to the universe. With Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) off on her own adventure to reconnect with her family, the Doctor is left to reckon with these events alone.
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Doctor Who had some highs and lows in season 14, but there are some things the show needs to correct ahead of season 15 to get firmly back on track.
As such,Doctor Who’s 2024 seasonal specialis set to challenge this plot point with its history-spanning scope, per the writing of returning writer and former showrunner Steven Moffat. During his tenure, Moffat used seasonal specials to challenge the Doctor at that current stage in his life, be it over his mourning, connections to his loved ones, or grappling with his own mortality. As such, the upcoming seasonal special promises to be an emotional bridge between season 14 and season 15.
As seen in the clip,Doctor Who’s 2024 seasonal special promises to be a jovial but thoughtful adventure through space and time. As seen in Coughlan’s introduction, Joy and the Doctor are two lonely travelers left alone to wander during a season about togetherness. As such, the pair may be able to bring a little light to each other’s lives in troubling times, though Silurians, explorers, and mysterious locked doors may leave plenty of trouble for the pair.
Doctor Who
Cast
Doctor Who: Released on August 12, 2025, this series follows the Doctor and their companion as they journey across time and space, encountering a range of extraordinary friends and adversaries, expanding the universe of the long-running British science fiction series.
