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List of Doctor Who Christmas and New Year's specials

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Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The show has been a large influence in the media since its inception in 1963. Along with the regular series, special Christmas episodes were initially broadcast every year, beginning with "The Christmas Invasion" (2005) and ending with "Twice Upon a Time" (2017). Beginning with the Thirteenth Doctor, the traditional Christmas special episode was moved to the following New Year's Day timeslot, with episodes being produced for the holiday, beginning with "Resolution" (2019) and ending with "Eve of the Daleks" (2022). The Christmas specials returned with "The Church on Ruby Road" (2023).[1]

Episodes

Classic era

During the first run of the programme (1963–1989), special episodes were not a frequent occurrence. During the third season, the twelve-part serial The Daleks' Master Plan was broadcast weekly over the 1965–1966 Christmas period, with its seventh and eighth episodes scheduled for Christmas and New Year's Day respectively. The former, "The Feast of Steven", was scripted as a comic interlude in the style of a pantomime, in the middle of an otherwise epic adventure.[2] In its final scene, as the Doctor and his companions celebrate Christmas with a toast, the First Doctor (William Hartnell) turns to the camera and breaks the fourth wall by saying "Incidentally, a happy Christmas to all of you at home."[2] The following episode, "Volcano", returns to the main narrative of The Daleks' Master Plan, although its ending briefly features a contemporary New Year's Eve.[2] No subsequent episodes of the series' original run were broadcast on Christmas Day; the first episodes of Day of the Daleks (1972) and The Face of Evil (1977) were first shown on New Year's Day, but make no reference to the holiday season.

Revived era

No.
story		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions) [3]		AI [3]
Tenth Doctor
167"The Christmas Invasion"James HawesRussell T Davies25 December 2005 (2005-12-25)9.8484
178"The Runaway Bride"Euros LynRussell T Davies25 December 2006 (2006-12-25)9.3584
188"Voyage of the Damned"James StrongRussell T Davies25 December 2007 (2007-12-25)13.3186
199"The Next Doctor"Andy GoddardRussell T Davies25 December 2008 (2008-12-25)13.1086
202a"The End of Time – Part One"Euros LynRussell T Davies25 December 2009 (2009-12-25)12.0487
202b"The End of Time – Part Two"Euros LynRussell T Davies1 January 2010 (2010-01-01)12.2789
Eleventh Doctor
213"A Christmas Carol"Toby HaynesSteven Moffat25 December 2010 (2010-12-25)12.1183
225"The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe"Farren BlackburnSteven Moffat25 December 2011 (2011-12-25)10.7784
231"The Snowmen"Saul MetzsteinSteven Moffat25 December 2012 (2012-12-25)9.8787
241"The Time of the Doctor"Jamie PayneSteven Moffat25 December 2013 (2013-12-25)11.1483
Twelfth Doctor
253"Last Christmas"Paul WilmshurstSteven Moffat25 December 2014 (2014-12-25)8.2882
263"The Husbands of River Song"Douglas MackinnonSteven Moffat25 December 2015 (2015-12-25)7.6982
264"The Return of Doctor Mysterio"Ed BazalgetteSteven Moffat25 December 2016 (2016-12-25)7.8382
276"Twice Upon a Time"Rachel TalalaySteven Moffat25 December 2017 (2017-12-25)7.9281
Thirteenth Doctor
287"Resolution"Wayne YipChris Chibnall1 January 2019 (2019-01-01)7.1380
288a"Spyfall, Part 1"Jamie Magnus StoneChris Chibnall1 January 2020 (2020-01-01)6.8982
This was the first episode of the twelfth series.[4]
296"Revolution of the Daleks"Lee Haven JonesChris Chibnall1 January 2021 (2021-01-01)6.3679
298"Eve of the Daleks"Annetta LauferChris Chibnall1 January 2022 (2022-01-01)4.4077
Fifteenth Doctor
304"The Church on Ruby Road"Mark TonderaiRussell T Davies25 December 2023 (2023-12-25)7.4982

Home media release

DVD cover art
The DVD cover art for Doctor Who – The 10 Christmas Specials.

The Christmas specials between "The Christmas Invasion" (2005) and "Last Christmas" (2014), inclusive, were released as a DVD and Blu-ray boxset titled Doctor Who – The 10 Christmas Specials on 19 October 2015.[5]

Notes

References

  1. ^ Freeman, Rob (22 August 2023). "New episodes of the BBC's Doctor Who are streaming globally from November". BBC Culture. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Cornell, Paul; Day, Martin; Topping, Keith; Howe, David J.; Walker, Stephen James. "Doctor Who: The Classic Series — The Daleks' Master Plan". BBC Doctor Who website. BBC. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Ratings Guide". Doctor Who News. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  4. ^ Dee, Christel (14 November 2018). "Doctor Who festive special to air on New Year's Day". Doctor Who TV. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  5. ^ "Doctor Who News: Doctor Who - The Ten Christmas Specials". Doctor Who News. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
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