Doctor Who reveals 60th anniversary specials' air dates and posters

Virgin Radio

26 Oct 2023, 08:17

Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary specials finally have their air dates - and they’re less than a month away!

Taking to social media yesterday evening (25th October), the official Doctor Who account revealed that the first of the much-anticipated special episodes to celebrate the sci-fi institution’s 23rd November birthday will air on Saturday, 25th November. The next will air on 2nd December, and the third on 9th December.

Fans had already been predicting that these dates might be the ones, but were delighted to have them confirmed after over a year of waiting for a new Doctor Who episode.

Celebrating the release date news on his Instagram, Doctor Who’s returning showrunner Russell T Davies wrote: “NOV 25 on BBC One: THE STAR BEAST. Who is the Star Beast? Why is it? And how?”

He then teased: “DEC 2: WILD BLUE YONDER. How wild is it? How blue? And how.. Yond?”

Finally, he wrote: “DEC 9: THE GIGGLE. Or is it? Or was it? How is this be? TONS OF FUN, FOLKS.”

Alongside the release date news, the BBC show also revealed three brand new posters for the special episodes which will air this winter.

This November and December's specials will feature returning Doctor actor David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor, who Jodie Whitaker’s Thirteenth Doctor confusingly regenerated into at the end of her final episode last year.

They will also see the return of Catherine Tate as former fan-favourite companion Donna Noble. Plus, Heartstopper’s Yasmin Finney is set to star as Donna’s daughter Rose, a new character who characters still know little about but are very excited to see.

Other actors confirmed for the 60th anniversary specials are Neil Patrick Harris, who will be playing returning First Doctor adversary the Celestial Toymaker; Miriam Margolyes who is voicing friendly-looking extraterrestrial creature Beep the Meep; and Jemma Redgrave who is returning to her role as UNIT leader Kate Lethbridge-Stewart.

Ncuti Gatwa is also expected to make an appearance as the Fifteenth Doctor ahead of his taking over the Doctor role from Tennant for the show's next series.

Doctor Who returns to BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Saturday, 25th November.