Doctor Who's Pearl Mackie and Matt Lucas return for special follow-up scene
Bill and Nardole are back in a new Steven Moffat script – but a planned watchalong of their big exit has been cancelled
If the recent release of a draft script for Doctor Who's The Pilot wasn’t enough 2017-era Doctor Who nostalgia for you, then we’ve got good news – former companions Pearl Mackie and Matt Lucas are returning to the Who milieu for a special new scene which will feature their characters Bill and Nardole.
Called The Best of Days and written by ex-showrunner Steven Moffat, the special feature will reunite the companions of Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor for the first time since 2017, when both departed in his final episode Twice Upon a Time. Another Team TARDIS, together again!
Arranged by Doctor Who: Lockdown organiser Emily Cook, the new scene was originally planned to be released as part of a watchalong of 2017 two-parter World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls – however, Cook has now announced that the event won’t go ahead, stating that it “doesn’t feel appropriate at this time”.
“Over the past few months, the driving spirit behind the Doctor Who tweetalongs has been to bring fans together and to provide some much-needed escapism and entertainment during lockdown,” Cook wrote on Twitter.
“After careful consideration, out of respect for the feelings of Doctor Who fans around the world, we won’t be going along with the tweetalong this weekend. It doesn’t seem appropriate at this time.”
But of course, fans can still enjoy the new collaboration by Moffat, Mackie and Lucas – and if you are looking for a watchalong this weekend, other Whovians have organised an impromptu rewatch of recent episodes Thin Ice, Knock Knock, The Ghost Monument and the Haunting of Villa Diodati under the hashtag #DoctorWhoBlackOut.
In other words, our cup still runneth over when it comes to “extra-curricular” TARDIS fun. Trust Doctor Who to travel back in time and bring so many old favourites back to the present...
Doctor Who returns to BBC One in late 2020/early 2021. If you're looking for more to watch, check out our TV guide.
Authors
Huw Fullerton is a Commissioning Editor for Radio Times magazine, covering Entertainment, Comedy and Specialist Drama.