Afterteasing the returnof Doctor Who’straditionalChristmas special , the BBC and Disney have confirmed that Ncuti Gatwa ’s debut instalment as the Doctor will air out on Christmas Day 2023 — the serial ’ first holiday propagate in six years .
In a new press sack for its merry programing slate , Disney+—the newinternational streaming homeof Doctor Who going forward — confirmed that Doctor Who ’s next Christmas special will stream on the armed service ( and , presumably , transmit simultaneously on the BBC in the UK and Ireland ) on December 25 . The episode , title “ The Church on Ruby Road , ” will mark Ncuti Gatwa ’s official unveiling as the 15th Doctor and , gauge by the title , will innovate Gatwa ’s first companion , Millie Gibson ’s Ruby Sunday .
Making a watchlist , c̶h̶e̶c̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶i̶t̶ streaming everything doubly ! 🎁 What are you crossing off the#SeasonsStreamingslist first?pic.twitter.com / fDnmVDIgMj
Screenshot: BBC
— Disney+ ( @DisneyPlus)November 6 , 2023
“ The Church on Ruby Road ” will be Doctor Who ’s first Christmas broadcast since Peter Capaldi ’s final episode , “ Twice Upon a fourth dimension , ” in 2017 . In oneunpopular move among manyduring the tenure of former Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall , with Jodie Whittaker ’s 13th Doctor the series move to air out new special episodes on New Year ’s Day instead of Christmas Day .
Although a workweek ’s divergence may not seem like much to many , the break of a 12 - year custom proved to be something of a mistake for the serial publication — New Year ’s daytime is not only a importantly less - lucrative day in the calendar in terms of TV military rating compared to Christmas Day in the UK , Doctor Who ’s run of specials under Chibnall did n’t really capitalize on New Years itself in the way prior specialscapitalized on Christmas , lending them an air of spectacle that drew in the wide family line audience Doctor Who had domesticate since its getting even in 2005 .
The series had made a name for itself in the gay boob tube canon with swelled adventures that attracted gamey - visibility invitee maven , like Catherine Tate in “ The Runaway Bride , ” lead to her eventual return key as full - time companion Donna Noble , and popstar Kylie Minogue in “ The Voyage of the Damned , ” one of the most - watched episodes of Who ’s modern earned run average . The New Year ’s specials , in line , were all comparatively minimize affair — and for the most part , focused on the return of perpetualseries villains the Daleks , which gets significantly less limited when they return multiple meter across the serial anyway .
The return to a festal clip expansion slot is just one of many former staple fibre of Doctor Who return showrunner Russell T. Davies is play back — admit virtuoso David Tennant and the aforementioned Tate , who will return as the Doctor and Donnastarting November 25on BBC One and Disney+ for a tierce of weekly special episodes celebrate the show ’s 60th anniversary .
Want more io9 news ? turn back out when to wait the latestMarvel , Star Wars , andStar Trekreleases , what ’s next for theDC Universe on movie and television set , and everything you need to bed about the future ofDoctor Who .
Daily Newsletter
Get the best technical school , scientific discipline , and culture news in your inbox day by day .
News from the future , fork out to your nowadays .
You May Also Like
