Trailer for the 2024 Doctor Who Christmas special, plot, where to watch and more

The Doctor Who Christmas specials are a tradition for many fans of the franchise, especially since they typically feature guest stars who wouldn't otherwise be in the spotlight in a regular episode of the series. The 2024 special is no exception.

Showrunner Russell T. Davies announced, Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday, revealing a first-look clip featuring a pre-recorded video introduction from a very familiar face. Bridgerton Star Nicola Coughlan will take center stage in this year's special, entitled “Joy to the World,” as the title character.

“I am very happy to be part of Doctor Who for the Christmas special this year and I am so excited for you to meet my character Joy, a determined woman whose life changes forever when she meets the Doctor,” Coughlan told the panel in Hall H. “I had the best, best time filming this episode with Ncuti [Gatwa, who plays the Doctor] and the whole crew.”

The plot of the Doctor Who Christmas Special 2024

The Doctor Who The special 2024 Christmas clip shows the Doctor arriving at an elderly couple's room at the Queens Hotel in Manchester, England in 1940 with a pumpkin latte and a ham and cheese toastie. Outside, air raid sirens wail as bombs are dropped, and he leaves the hotel as quickly as he came. The scene then changes to show the Orient Express chugging through Italy in 1962, where the Doctor offers the same treats to a dark-haired woman reading a letter.

This continues for two more shots, with the Doctor appearing at a Mount Everest base camp in 1953, and then finally arriving at the Sandringham Hotel in London in 2024. Shortly before his arrival, Joy steps out of a black cab and books a single room at the hotel for a week. She has a quick chat with a fly, then brandishes her hotel hairdryer like a weapon at a suited Siluian who comes into her room through a mysterious, locked door. The Doctor walks through the same door and smiles contentedly when he sees Joy. She gets that pumpkin latte and ham and cheese toastie.

Former Doctor Who Showrunner Steven Moffat wrote this year's Christmas special. Tonally, this short clip feels like his work, though we hope Joy doesn't suffer a similar fate to other women he's written. But aside from Coughlan's reflection on Joy's arc, brief comments from the writers, and the clip revealed at SDCC 2024, we don't know much about the story yet.

However, Davies gave a preview in a behind-the-scenes video: “It's one of the craziest Christmas specials you'll ever see. It's epic, it goes to so many different places. And it's a great story about who the Doctor is when he's alone.”

Where and when can you Doctor Who Christmas Special 2024

The Doctor Who The 2024 Christmas special will stream on Disney+ and BBC iPlayer on Christmas Day, December 25. Season 1 of the recently rebooted series is currently streaming on both platforms and season 2 is expected sometime in 2025.