Doctor Who's Russell T Davies explains why he kept Wild Blue Yonder so secret
"This is the simplest one of the lot."
Doctor Who's second 60th anniversary special, Wild Blue Yonder, has finally landed, pitting David Tennant's Fourteenth Doctor and Catherine Tate's Donna Noble against evil versions of themselves at the edge of the universe.
Unlike the first 60th anniversary special, The Star Beast, Wild Blue Yonder was shrouded in mystery ahead of its transmission, with little known about the plot points or the full cast list.
Speaking about the decision to keep Wild Blue Yonder so secret ahead of its transmission, Russell T Davies explained on the Official Doctor Who Podcast: "We kept this very secret. I think that might have had an unfortunate effect. I think everyone's expecting Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi and the ghost of William Hartnell."
He continued: "Actually I kept this secret for a very simple reason, because I think it's nice to keep some episodes secret, but also because this is the simplest one of the lot.
"If you describe this episode, they arrive on the spaceship and they meet evil versions of themselves, that's it. Do they win? Yes they do, of course they do."
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He added: "I mean with The Star Beast, the Meep turns out to be evil and actually that's about Donna. The other episodes are more complicated; this is so simple.
"And that’s why I kept it secret, but I wonder if that's had an unfortunate effect and made it disappointingly simple on its broadcast."
Fans were quick to praise Tennant and Noble’s performances after watching Wild Blue Yonder, as well as the scenes featuring weird body horror and psychological creepiness.
Read more:
- Doctor Who dedicates Wild Blue Yonder to Bernard Cribbins
- It's a Sin star Nathaniel Curtis makes surprise Doctor Who appearance
The third 60th anniversary special, The Giggle, is fast approaching, and will see one of the Doctor's oldest enemies, The Toymaker (now played by Neil Patrick Harris), return, before we wave goodbye to Tennant and Tate and meet Ncuti Gatwa's hotly-anticipated Fifteenth Doctor.
Watch a trailer for The Giggle below:
Doctor Who's third anniversary special The Giggle airs at 6:30pm on Saturday 9th December on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Classic episodes are available on BritBox – you can sign up for a 7-day free trial here.
Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.
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Authors
Molly Moss is a Trends Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest trends across TV, film and more. She has an MA in Newspaper Journalism and has previously written for publications including The Guardian, The Times and The Sun Online.
