Our First Look at Christmas Special "The Church on Ruby Road" Introduces a New Era of 'Doctor Who'

A new era is here. Ncuti Gatwa (Sex Education) officially made his debut as the Doctor in the final installment of Doctor Who's trilogy of anniversary specials, a nonsensical, heartfelt, and deeply fun hour that rewrote a few key aspects of the show's canon along the way. (Technically, Gatwa's Doctor "bi-regenerated", if only so we could keep David Tennant around the franchise a bit longer.)

Now, the Fifteenth Doctor era is set to kick off properly in just a few short weeks, with the series' first proper Christmas special since 2017's Peter Capaldi regeneration episode "Twice Upon a Time". For whatever reason, it seems that previous showrunner Chris Chibnall simply wasn’t a fan of the festive special tradition and, beginning with Season 11’s “Resolution,” he essentially transformed the hour into a New Year’s installment that felt a lot more like a regular episode that just happened to air on a holiday than something specifically tied to the season in which it was broadcast.

Davies, as many viewers will remember, genuinely loves a Christmas episode, complete with the sort of big moments (David Tennant's debut in "The Christmas Invasion") and buzzy guest stars (Catherine Tate originally appeared in "The Runaway Bride" and Kylie Minogue guest-starred in "Voyage of the Damned) that draw in audiences both new and old. So it's in no way surprising that the show has immediately reverted to enthusiastic holiday form. (Whether there will be deadly Santas or killer Christmas trees is yet to be seen, however.)