New Year, New Doctor Who Special – on New Year’s Day

By Tim Robins on November 15, 2018

Yaz (Mandip Gill), Ryan (Tosin Cole), The Doctor (Jodie Whittaker), Graham (Bradley Walsh), Grace (Sharon D Clarke) in Doctor Who: The Woman Who Fell To Earth © BBC / BBC Studios – Photographer: Sophie Mutevelian

The first Doctor Who special starring Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor will kick off 2019 in style with a New Year’s Day broadcast – a change from the traditional timeslot on Christmas Day.

“We’re delighted the Doctor and her companions will be welcoming BBC One audiences into 2019 with this exciting new episode,” commented the BBC’s Director of Content Charlotte Moore. “The Doctor’s fans are in for a special treat on the first day of the new year.”

“We’re thrilled to be starting the New Year with a bang on BBC One,” added showrunner Chris Chibnall, “as Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor and friends face a terrifying alien threat in an action packed, hour long special adventure for all the family.”

In the Special, as the New Year begins, a terrifying evil is stirring from across the centuries of Earth’s history. As the Doctor, Ryan, Graham and Yaz return home, will they be able to overcome the threat to planet Earth?

The festive special is written by Chris Chibnall and directed by Wayne Yip. The Doctor is played by Jodie Whittaker, Ryan by Tosin Cole, Graham by Bradley Walsh and Yaz by Mandip Gill.

• The sixth episode of the new series Kerblam! will air this Sunday 18th November at 6.30pm. Release date varies by country – check local listings in the official Doctor Who site’s “Watch” section for information

WEB LINKS

• Doctor Who – Official Site

• Read our reviews of The Woman who Fell to Earth | The Ghost Monument | Rosa | Arachnids in the UK | The Tsuranga Conundrum – reviews by Tim Robins and Paul Mount

• Read our review of Titan Comics Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor #1

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All images © BBC/ BBC Studios

Tim Robins

A freelance journalist and Doctor Who fanzine editor since 1978, Tim Robins has written on comics, films, books and TV programmes for a wide range of publications including Starburst, Interzone, Primetime and TV Guide.

His brief flirtation with comics includes ghost inking a 2000AD strip and co-writing a Doctor Who strip with Mike Collins. Since 1990 he worked at the University of Glamorgan where he was a Senior Lecturer in Cultural and Media Studies and the social sciences. Academically, he has published on the animation industry in Wales and approaches to social memory. He claims to be a card carrying member of the Politically Correct, a secret cadre bent on ruling the entire world and all human thought.