Joy To The World, written by Steven Moffat, will air on BBC One on Christmas Day and guest stars Nicola Coughlan opposite The Fifteenth Doctor Ncuti Gatwa. Season 2 will see Gatwa return alongside Millie Gibson and new addition to the TARDIS Varada Sethu.
The synopsis reads: “When Joy checks into a London hotel in 2024, she opens a secret doorway to the Time Hotel – discovering danger, dinosaurs, and the Doctor. But a deadly plan is unfolding across the Earth, just in time for Christmas.”
Joining the Christmas special, alongside Couglan and revealed in Doctor Who Magazine, are Peter Benedict and Julia Watson as Basil and Hilda. Niamh Marie Smith will play Sylvia, Phil Baxter is Edmund Hillary, Samuel Sherpa-Moore is Tenzing Norgay, Steph de Whalley is Anita and Jonathan Aris played Melnak the Silurian.
Galway born actress, Couglan, has made a huge impact in film and television having starred in standout roles such as the hilarious Clare Devlin in award-winning drama comedy series Derry Girls, Penelope Featherington in the regency-era international sensation Bridgerton, and not to forget one of the Barbies in mega-blockbuster Barbie, alongside the Fifteenth Doctor Ncuti Gatwa.
Doctor Who will then return in 2025 with Season 2, which will see The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) reunite alongside new companion played by Varada Sethu. Sethu made a surprise appearence in Season 1 as part of the cast of Boom.
Varada joins the Whoniverse from a galaxy far, far away after starring in the Disney+ Star Wars series Andor. Now she straps in for another journey through time and space alongside Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor and Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday.
On joining Doctor Who, Nicola Coughlan says: “I’m excited to join the Whoniverse under the leadership of the inimitable Russell T Davies. I’ve been a fan of Ncuti Gatwa for some time and getting to share the screen with him as the Doctor has been an absolute joy”.
Doctor Who Season 1 is available to stream now on BBC iPlayer in the UK and Disney+ worldwide where available. Doctor Who is produced by Bad Wolf with BBC Studios for the BBC and Disney Branded Television.
