Doctor Who‘s Christmas Specials are officially returning under showrunner Russell T. Davies. The future is bright for Doctor Who, which will celebrate its 60th anniversary in style with three specials featuring David Tennant and Catherine Tate. They will then pass the torch to Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor and Millie Gibson as new companion Ruby Sunday. This is effectively a relaunch, with Doctor Who now enjoying a big-budget co-production deal with Bad Wolf Studios – and distributed internationally by Disney+.
Now, though, Davies has revealed he is bringing back the show’s much-loved Christmas Specials. In an interview with Doctor Who Magazine #585 (via TVZone), he notes that he’s currently working on the script for Christmas 2024. “For the first time ever, I’m writing a Christmas Special… at Christmas,” he reflects. “And this isn’t for next year, no, the 2023 script has been long since signed-off. The new one is for end-of-year 2024!“
Why Doctor Who Stopped Doing Christmas Specials
The Christmas Specials were a major part of Davies’ first Doctor Who run and were maintained under Steven Moffat. Chris Chibnall, however, felt they had been played out, and moved to New Year’s Day instead. To be fair to Chibnall, his Doctor Who New Year Specials incorporated this into their plots in quite creative ways, but the fanbase was generally disappointed by the decision. It moved Doctor Who out of the BBC’s prime-time Christmas schedule (naturally leading to reducing ratings), and it meant they lost the experience of gathering together as families to watch Doctor Who on Christmas Day.
It isn’t really a surprise to see Russell T. Davies move back to the Christmas slot. He clearly loved the Christmas Specials, and members of his team have openly expressed disappointment they were dropped in the first place, with Tennant himself noting it felt as though the show had lost some of its magic. This does, sadly, mean Thirteenth Doctor Jodie Whittaker will be the only modern Doctor not to star in a Christmas Special. What’s more, because Davies’ 60th-anniversary specials will kick off in November 2023, it also means this festive season is the first one since 2005 without a new episode of Doctor Who.
Still, most viewers will accept this is a price worth paying for what feels like another relaunch of Doctor Who. The BBC’s co-production deal with Bad Wolf and distribution deal with Disney+ means Doctor Who will enjoy budgets exceeding even those of Star Wars TV shows, finally allowing it to put a history of dodgy CGI and wobbly sets behind it. That Disney+ deal means Doctor Who‘s upcoming Christmas Specials won’t only be a major part of the BBC’s Christmas schedule – they’ll also fit into Disney+’s festive celebrations, a massive PR coup that could well draw in new audiences across the world. Davies is fixing many of Doctor Who‘s problems and flaws, and the return of the Christmas Specials shows he knows just how to keep the fans on board. The future really couldn’t be brighter for Doctor Who.
