Doctor Who debuts first-look at 2024 Christmas special with Nicola Coughlan
Coughlan will play Joy in the Steven Moffat-penned episode.
A first-look teaser for this year's Doctor Who festive special, Joy to the World, has been unveiled at San Diego Comic-Con.
As part of a panel attended by Ncuti Gatwa, Millie Gibson and showrunner Russell T Davies, fans were treated to a new clip from the Steven M0ffat-penned episode.
The clip was introduced by guest star Nicola Coughlan, who confirmed that the episode's punning title refers to her character Joy, "a determined woman whose life is changed forever when she meets the Doctor".
The sequence – which you can watch below – sees the Doctor zip from Manchester in 1940 to Italy in 1962, then to Mount Everest in 1953 and finally to London in 2024, where he meets Joy.
Coughlan's character is, of course, attempting to fend off a Silurian with a hair dryer when the Time Lord appears to deliver a ham and cheese toastie and a pumpkin latte... only in Doctor Who.
Speaking in a behind the scenes video on YouTube, Russell T Davies previously said of Joy to the World: "Now the Doctor voyages forward, and guess what always happens to the Doctor every so often - Christmas! Here comes Christmas.
"I can't give away much more but work has begun on it already, and it's mad, it's one of the maddest Christmas specials you'll ever see. It's epic, it goes to so many different places. And it's a great story of who the Doctor is when he's alone."
The episode has been written by former showrunner Steven Moffat, who told Ireland AM: "Nicola is wonderful in it, she will break your heart."
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Also announced at Doctor Who's San Diego Comic-Con panel was a new spin-off titled The War Between the Land and the Sea.
The long-rumoured series begins filming in August, with Russell Tovey (Years and Years) and Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Black Mirror, Loki) set as leads.
Dylan Holmes-Williams – who directed the Doctor Who episodes 73 Yards and Dot and Bubble – helming the five-part spin-off, co-written by Pete McTighe and Russell T Davies.
Read more:
- Doctor Who’s Callie Cooke would "love" to return: "Maybe as someone else"
- Doctor Who praised by BBC in annual report as ratings continue to grow
Doctor Who will return at Christmas on BBC iPlayer and BBC One. Previous seasons are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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Authors
Morgan Jeffery is the Digital Editor for Radio Times, overseeing all editorial output across the brand's digital platforms. He was previously TV Editor at Digital Spy and has featured as a TV expert on BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 5 Live and Sky Atlantic.
