At Last, Doctor Who Christmas Specials Are Officially Back

After WatchAndor Episode 9 Review CCShare SubtitlesOffEnglishAdvertisement“The Church on Ruby Road” will be Doctor Who’s first Christmas broadcast since Peter Capaldi’s final episode, “Twice Upon a Time,” in 2017. In one Advertisement Although a week’s difference may not seem like much to many, the breaking of a 12-year tradition proved to be something of a mistake for the series—New Year’s Day is not only a significantly less-lucrative day in the calendar in terms of TV ratings compared to Christmas Day in the UK, Doctor Who’s run of specials under Chibnall didn’t really capitalize on New Years itself in the way prior specials The series had made a name for itself in the festive TV canon with big adventures that attracted high-profile guest stars, like Catherine Tate in “The Runaway Bride,” leading to her eventual return as full-time companion Donna Noble, and popstar Kylie Minogue in “The Voyage of the Damned,” one of the most-watched episodes of Who’s modern era. The New Year’s specials, in contrast, were all relatively understated affairs—and for the most part, focused on the return of perpetual AdvertisementThe return to a festive time slot is just one of many former staples of Doctor Who returning showrunner Russell T. Davies is bringing back—including stars David Tennant and the aforementioned Tate, who will return as the Doctor and Donna Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest

Based on reporting by gizmodo.com.