We know the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) begins the Doctor Who New Year’s special Revolution of the Daleks imprisoned in an asteroid. According to director Lee Haven Jones in issue 334 of SFX magazine, the Doctor is “on her own, isolated. It’s a rather damp, dark, authoritarian environment. She’s told when she needs to exercise. She’s fed terrible food. She is in a cell all on her own and obviously is missing the fam.”

Though there are no scenes in the trailer for the special which show the Doctor anywhere but in prison, it’s unlikely that the main character will stay in prison for the programme’s entirety.

There are a few clues that Yaz (Mandip Gill) and Captain Jack (John Barrowman) spring the Doctor from prison by working together.

Mandip Gill spoke about working with John Barrowman to SFX magazine.

“We had some really gorgeous scenes together where he tells me about his experience of having the Doctor, and losing the Doctor, and all that kind of stuff. So I think he really resonates with Yaz, and they really bonded…”

When interviewed in the same magazine, Barrowman revealed that Captain Jack will finally get to meet the thirteenth Doctor.

“When you watch this, it’s going to be an epic rollercoaster ride of emotion – it’s going to be one of the biggest. There’s going to be a lot of happiness, a lot of sadness, there’s going to be surprises, there’s going to be excitement. And that’s one of the moments, when Jack meets 13. But I’m not going to tell you how…”

The teaser for the special shows Jack greeting the sound of the TARDIS very enthusiastically.

And a scene from the special’s trailer shows Yaz shouting, “Now, Jack!” while clearly aboard the thirteenth Doctor’s TARDIS.

Another clue comes from an interview with John Barrowman in Doctor Who Magazine’s 2021 Yearbook. When he was asked what on-set antics he has been up to during Revolution of the Daleks filming, along with stuffing Jodie Whittaker’s trailer full of toilet paper, he revealed:

“There’s been a lot of singing and I’ve been doing some dancing on a podium in the jail cell.”

So John Barrowman, and therefore Captain Jack, have been inside the Doctor’s jail cell. There’s no “podium” but there is a raised platform in the middle of the Doctor’s cell.

We’re not aware of what Barrowman was singing while dancing in the prison cell set but we’re hoping it was Jailhouse Rock.

Written by Chris Chibnall and directed by Lee Haven Jones, the 71-minute Doctor Who New Year’s special, Revolution of the Daleks will air on New Year’s Day, January 1, 2021 at 6:45 p.m. on BBC One and 8:00 p.m. on BBC America.