In a chat with two of the three modern Doctor Who showrunners, Russell T Davies has hinted that this year’s Doctor Who special, Joy to the World, will hit streaming at midnight before it airs on BBC1 on Christmas Day. Although he normally misses the show…

Davies says:

“We swap Christmasses between my sisters. I don’t ever cook. We have a big, proper family Christmas dinner. We normally miss the Doctor Who special, to be honest. I’ll watch it at midnight.”

But what of the writer of the next episode, Steven Moffat? He explains:

“I absolutely adore Christmas – it can’t start early enough for me. We do a big party the day before Christmas Eve where all our friends come round. I remember once – I don’t know why this happened – but David Tennant turned up at our Christmas party entirely dressed as an elf. No one else was in fancy dress! He’s just wandering around like an elf.”

(It sort of feels like something David’s wife, Georgia, would trick him into, right? “Yes, it’s a fancy dress party”?)

Moffat’s love of Christmas shines through: he captures the joy, chaos, and melancholy perfectly in episodes like The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe, which has some absolutely beautiful scenes between the Doctor and Madge in particular, then with Amy and Rory at the end. In fact, I love all of Moffat’s Christmas specials, so I’m really looking forward to Joy to the World!

Joy to the World will air on BBC1 at 5:10pm on 25th December 2024.