BBC Children in Need has shared a preview clip of Ncuti Gatwa and Nicola Coughlan in action for the Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special.
The upcoming episode, titled ‘Joy To The World’, has been written by former showrunner Steven Moffat, who returns to the Whoniverse having recently created the adventure episode ‘Boom’.
In the recent preview of the festive special, Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor is seen to condemn the reveal of an old foe, the Villengard Corporation. The fictional weapons manufacturer plays a central role in the plot of Steven Moffat’s previous Doctor Who script, having first featured in the 2005 episode ‘The Doctor Dances’.
Best known for Bridgerton, Nicola Coughlan joins the Doctor in this festive episode as a new character named Joy. We glimpse they’ll face off against the ominous return of Villengard. In a previous sneak peek, which aired at San Diego Comic Con in July, Coughlan highlighted that Joy is “a determined woman whose life is changed forever when she meets the Doctor”. Joy is already seen to reflect this hint about her character in the newest clip, asking key questions and spotting danger before the Doctor.
Jonathan Aris, notable for his appearances in Sherlock, also features in the sneak peek as a new Silurian character called Melnak.
The short teaser culminates with the Doctor and Joy sliding perilously into the jaws of a dinosaur, as the time-travelling duo appear to find themselves in danger during Earth’s ancient history.
While fans will be left questioning the fate of the Doctor and Joy at the conclusion of this recent preview, earlier this month, writer Moffat also teased some intriguing insight into the festive episode’s plot on BBC South East: “What’s the first thing a hotel chain would do if they had time travel? […] They’d realise they had an opportunity to sell all the unsold nights in their own hotels in history.”
Joy To The World will air this Christmas on BBC One and iPlayer in the UK, and available for international viewers on Disney+.
Words by Jacob Gill
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