Doctor Who uncertainty explained: When is Christmas special on TV and will there be a 16th series?

Doctor Who fans rejoice! There will be a 2024 Christmas special – and with Russell T Davies back at the helm, it will air on Christmas Day rather than on New Year’s Day, as in previous years.

The Christmas special will star Ncuti Gatwa returning as the 15th Doctor as well as Nicola Coughlan of Derry Girls and Bridgerton fame.

Coughlan will be playing a woman named Joy, who was described by the actress as a “determined woman whose life is changed forever when she meets the Doctor”, in an episode aptly-titled Joy To The World. The storyline sees a hotel chain that gets hold of time travel and capitalises on it to sell stays throughout history.

It is at this hotel that the Doctor meets Joy and ends up on a time-hopping trip through the history of the earth.

An old enemy of the Doctor’s is also making a comeback, with the Villengard Corporation expected to be the antagonist in this episode: they’re the largest weapons manufacturer in the galaxy during the 51st century, selling weapons to all sides of a conflict.

The Christmas special will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Christmas Day (December 25) at 5:10pm.

Davies previously said that airing the special on Christmas Day was a condition of his return. He told Doctor Who: Unleashed: “This was kind of like number one on my shopping list – Christmas Day. I literally went to the BBC saying, ‘Back on Christmas Day, thank you very much. Let’s have this.'”

“I just think it suits Doctor Who. I think the stories are more fun. Any story with tinsel in it is better than a story without tinsel in it.”

And fans will be pleased to know that there will be another series of Doctor Who after the Christmas special.

The 15th series – which has been marketed as ‘season two’ due to production changes and Disney+ acquiring international broadcasting rights for the long-running sci-fi show – will premiere in 2025.

Though an exact date has not been announced, new series of Doctor Who tend to premiere in April or May.

Has Doctor Who been cancelled?

But, beyond the 15th season, the show’s future is uncertain. Gatwa reportedly told The Graham Norton Show that the cast would be “filming a third series next year”, by which he means his third series as the Doctor.

However, the BBC has not yet renewed Doctor Who for season 16, saying that it would not make a final decision until after season 15 airs on BBC One and Disney+ next year.

“As we’ve said previously, the decision on season three will be made after season two transmits and as always we don’t comment on speculation,” a spokesperson said. Season two will likely launch next spring,” the broadcaster told Deadline.

However, Davies has said he has already started work on the scripts for that season as he is “very confident” about a renewal.