Doctor Who’s Russell T Davies teases "dark" and "weird" 60th anniversary specials

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"The next one is called Wild Blue Yonder, where the TARDIS goes further than ever before – and it's weird, the next one, it's kind of scary," he said.

He explained that he wanted the first of the specials to be more of a family-friendly offering, "like a bank holiday film", but that there would be some more unconventional things in store thereafter.

"The second one... darker and weird," he added. "It's not super scary, it's just weird. It's genuinely weird, it's really nice – that stretched the whole design team as to how to make it and how to get this stuff on screen."

Meanwhile, he said that the third instalment, which is titled The Giggle, will see everything come to a climax.

"[It's] Neil Patrick Harris as The Toymaker, who was an old enemy from the 1960s, coming back," he said. "That one's wild, that one's scary, that's one nuts – it's a completely mad adventure."

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He continued: "That's frightening, and revolutionary things happen in it. And obviously, sadly, it's not giving anything away to say it's goodbye to David Tennant and in comes Ncuti Gatwa."

The specials will start airing later this month, with The Star Beast debuting on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Saturday 25th November, and the remaining two episodes following in subsequent weeks.

All three episodes will see beloved stars David Tennant and Catherine Tate return to the show, while other cast members include Neil Patrick Harris as The Toymaker, Yasmin Finney as Rose Noble and Miriam Margolyes as the voice of Beep the Meep.

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