Why Russell T Davies Asked Steven Moffat to Write Doctor Who‘s New Christmas Special

Fans were shocked successful the tally up to this year’s Doctor Who revival that erstwhile showrunner Steven Moffat would return to the TARDIS and constitute his first occurrence for the series since helium departed successful 2017, lone to beryllium shocked again erstwhile it was rapidly confirmed that helium would besides constitute the 2024 Christmas special for the series. But it turns retired that astatine slightest portion of the crushed wherefore we got that double-barreled merchandise of quality is for a elemental reason: Russell T Davies is really, really busy.

Davies had planned to pen the 2nd Christmas peculiar of his sophomore tenure—and had antecedently teased advancement connected it portion discussing Who‘s instrumentality to the accepted festive TV slot—but, according to Moffat, constraints connected the showrunner’s clip arsenic Doctor Who up of Ncuti Gatwa’s 2nd play arsenic the Doctor necessitated a alteration successful vacation plans.

“The email [from Davies] came done and said ‘Steven, I need to get connected bid 2, I’m ne'er gonna this Christmas script… could you travel successful and constitute one?'” Moffat recalled successful a caller interrogation with BBC News. “Not implicit his script, but bash different 1 from scratch.”

Production connected the 2nd play of Davies’ caller epoch began precise rapidly aft decision connected the first. Fans saw acceptable pictures of the incoming companion played by Andor‘s Varada Sethu good earlier she was formally introduced—and adjacent earlier Gatwa’s archetypal play began airing. It’s nary astonishment then, that Davies—who already, for amended and worse, scripted the bulk of Gatwa’s archetypal play himself—found himself successful request of different writer erstwhile turnaround was truthful demanding.

As for wherefore Moffat returned, the writer added some a professed emotion for writing Doctor Who‘s seasonal episodes, but besides teased the cardinal hook to the upcoming episode, titled “Joy to the World.”

“Imagine successful the acold far future… a edifice concatenation got clasp of the thought of clip travel,” Moffat teased. “What’s the archetypal happening a edifice concatenation would bash if they had clip travel? They’d recognize they had an accidental to merchantability each the unsold nights successful their hotels successful history.”

It’s presumable 1 of those unsold nights, then, that brings Gatwa’s 15th Doctor crashing into the beingness of Nicola Coughlan’s caller character, Joy, arsenic good arsenic the instrumentality of Doctor Who‘s past amphibian foes, the Silurians. A Time Lord is simply a spot much than immoderate edifice could bargain for if it came to time-travel reservations, it seems.

“Joy to the World” is presently expected to broadcast connected the BBC successful the UK, and Disney+ internationally, connected Christmas Day.

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