The Star Beast is the first of three Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials to appear in November. Here is what we know about the one-hour special so far.
At the end of The Power of the Doctor, the Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) regenerated into the Fourteenth Doctor (David Tennant). The new Doctor curiously had the same face and body of the Tenth Doctor, who was also portrayed by David Tennant.
Immediately following the regeneration, the Doctor went back into the TARDIS to have a one-hour adventure with Daleks – as portrayed in the Doctor Who Magazine comic Liberation of the Daleks.
In The Star Beast, the Doctor arrives in Camden in London.
In Camden, the Doctor accidentally reunites with his former companion Donna Noble (Catherine Tate). She doesn’t recognize him because he wiped her memories of their time together to save her life.
He meets Donna’s daughter Rose Noble (Yasmin Finney) and they observe a spaceship in distress.
“I don’t think that’s a plane, it’s a spaceship in trouble.”
Donna’s cabbie husband Shaun Temple (Karl Collins), her mother Sylvia Noble (Jacqueline King) and, though not appearing in the trailer, her grandfather Wilfred Mott (the late Bernard Cribbins who was spotted at location filming) are also in Camden.
Donna Noble is wistful about “something lovely” she lost.
“Sometimes I think there’s something missing. Like I had something lovely… and it’s gone. I lie in bed thinking ‘What have I lost?'”
Rose comes across that looks like a crashed escape pod.
Rose and her friend Fudge (Dara Lall) meet an alien known as a Meep, who is voiced by Miriam Margolyes. The Meeps were first introduced in the Fourth Doctor comic strip adventure Doctor Who and the Star Beast which was first published in Doctor Who Magazine in 1980.
“Who are they?,” Rose asks. “Monsters!,” the Meep replies.
It’s not long before Donna also meets the Meep.
“What the hell???” “We’ve got a bloody Martian in the shed!”
The Doctor visits the Noble house and receives a less than warm reception from Sylvia.
The Doctor says “Ahhh! Here we go again!,” after Sylvia attempts to fight him off to protect Donna. Silvia says “Don’t look!” and “He’s not there. You can’t see him!”
The Noble household is disturbed by explosions.
The Meep’s enemies, the Wrarth Warriors arrive. They fight with UNIT soldiers.
Major Singh (Ronak Patani) leads the UNIT troops in the conflict with the Wrarth.
The Noble/Temple family are caught up in the conflict.
UNIT Colonel Chan’s (Jamie Cho) eyes glow strangely.
There was also a scene involving UNIT filmed in a large car park.
The Doctor discusses his Donna predicament with Shirley Anne Bingham (Ruth Madeley) in an steel mill.
“Now, I’ve got this friend, called Donna Noble. I had to wipe her memory to save her life. If she remember me, she will die. So what happens next? A spaceship crashes right in front of her. It’s like she’s drawing us in. I don’t believe in destiny but, if destiny exists, then it is heading for Donna Noble.”
Several scenes take place in the steel mill.
There is also an alien spaceship in the steel mill. Is it the key to saving the Earth or does it threaten destruction?
London is once more threatened.
While this shows many scenes from The Star Beast, there are plenty more plot and cast surprises to come in the special.
Doctor Who will return in November 2023 with three 60th anniversary specials starring David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor and Catherine Tate as companion Donna Noble titled The Star Beast, Wild Blue Yonder and The Giggle.
Ncuti Gatwa will star in his first full Doctor Who episode as the Fifteenth Doctor in the Doctor Who Christmas special alongside Millie Gibson as companion Ruby Sunday in December 2023.
A new 8-episode Doctor Who series starring Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor and Millie Gibson as Ruby will debut in Spring of 2024.