Nicola Coughlan presents the Christmas special and gives a preview (VIDEO)

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Nicola Coughlan had a message for fans in Hall H at SDCC 2024 before previewing the upcoming Doctor Who Christmas special, “Joy to the World.”

Published Fri, 26 July 2024 15:37:09 -0500

by Ray Flook

Who says it's too early to learn more about showrunners Russell T. Davies and stars Ncuti Gatwa (Fifteenth Doctor) and Millie Gibson's (Ruby Sunday) upcoming Doctor Who Christmas special? Not us – so we’re glad the BBC and Disney+ were kind enough to release an early preview of what’s to come. But the best part? It came with a wonderful introduction from guest star Nicola Coughlan (Derry Girls, Bridgerton), who personally let fans take a look at what the Steven Moffat-written, Alex PillaiCoughlan-directed Joy to the World has a lot to offer. You can check out what Coughlan had to say and the clip in the video above – and then be sure to check out what else we know about the Christmas surprise before it makes its debut in December. So get ready to meet Joy – we have a feeling the Doctor will have a big impact on her world…

Previously, Davies had given some hints on the show's official podcast (more on that in a moment) – and he had even more to add in the show's official behind-the-scenes featurette for “Empire of Death.” Towards the end of the video below (which starts at around 8:45), Davies notes, “Now the Doctor travels on, and guess what keeps happening to the Doctor – Christmas! Christmas is coming. I can't give much more away, but work has already started on it, and it's crazy; 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.” While the segment itself may be a little dated (filming for the special took place a few months ago), the description of the episode is pretty intriguing – one that we can add to the other hints that have come out so far.

Even though we still have a few months to process the first season and the storylines that will continue in season 2 (let’s not forget that we still have a new companion, Varada Sethujoins the TARDIS), it's never too early to give a sneak peek of what's to come – and that's exactly what we got shortly after the season finale aired on BBC One. Although we were hoping for actual footage, Davies appeared on the show's official podcast (watch the video below, starting at 38:40) to drop a few hints about Mrs. Flood (Anita Dobson) and Ruby's story is far from over as far as the special is concerned.

Doctor Who: The Road to “Joy to the World”

In November 2023, Coughlan personally reached out via video to tell fans that they can expect her to guest star in “Joy to the World” in the 2024 Christmas special:

“Happy New Year! And the point is – there, right behind us, is one of the sets from the 2024 Christmas episode of Doctor Who! The future! Right there ♥️ But what terrible secrets does it hide…? (etc.),” Davies wrote in an Instagram post on December 31, 2023, giving one of the first hints of what's to come:

In March of this year, social media posts included screenshots of Producer Alison Sterling's resume, which listed the 2024 Christmas special – with Pillai as director and Moffat as screenwriter. Shortly after, the listing was removed – but not replaced with a “corrected” writer. During the Radio Times Covers Party that same month, Moffat attempted to dismiss the idea of returning to the long-running series. “It would be professional madness, even by my standards, to return to a junior position on a show I used to direct. I'd have to be mad to do that!” Moffat added – and eventually proved he really was mad by writing the season one episode “BOOM.”

Two months later, Moffat confirmed to TV Choice that he was writing the Pillai-directed film Joy to the World – the 50th film in the BBC's history. Doctor Who script. “I should probably introduce this from my armchair: 'Here we are – number 50,'” Moffat said. “But I'm not involved in next year's series. I've got other things coming up, so I may never write for Doctor Who again. When I got to the end of 'Joy to the World,' I thought, 'Is this all? My last moment?' So this could be my goodbye. Number 50? I'll take that.”

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