In an interview with former Doctor Who Magazine editor Tom Spilsbury in Total TV Guide magazine, Russell T Davies promised staggering surprises for fans during the festive season following the 60th anniversary specials.
“I’m sorry there’s no special his year, but I absolutely promise, this time next year, you’ll be staggered with the surprises we’ve got in store!”
Ncuti Gatwa’s first full episode as the Fifteenth Doctor will air some time during the festive period after the Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials air November 2023.
Davies seemed to hint that he would be inclined to bring back the Christmas day special, calling it a “tradition.”
“Oh, the joy of the first commission! [The Christmas Invasion, 2005] It really felt like Doctor Who coming home. A family show, sitting in the heart of a schedule stuffed full of Pixar movies, and extra-length specials, and sitcoms going abroad for no good reason! It was the ultimate vote of confidence from the BBC. We immediately started planning the next Christmas special. Within two years, everyone was calling it a tradition!”
Ncuti Gatwa shared a few photos on an Instagram post of Doctor Who filming from a very cold night shoot in Penarth on 17 December. In one of the photos, he captured a break between takes with several actors wrapped in warm clothing. One of the people in the photo appears to be wearing a Santa Claus hat.
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The first full episode of Doctor Who starring Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor and Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday will air during the festive period after three Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials starring David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor and Catherine Tate as Donna Noble air in November 2023.