Doctor Who spoilers follow.
Doctor Who has confirmed Casualty and Good Omens stars will appear in this year's Christmas special.
Former Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat is back to pen the festive episode 'Joy to the World', in which Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan will play the title character Joy.
A recent trailer revealed that The Doctor will meet Joy while she's spending the Christmas season alone in a London hotel — before her holiday is interrupted by a Silurian walking into her room.
Doctor Who Magazine (via The Radio Times) has confirmed that the Silurian called Melnak will be played by Jonathan Aris, who previously worked with Moffat on Sherlock. He has also recently appeared in Good Omens as the Quartermaster Angel.
Related: Best streaming services 2024 — including Disney Plus, Netflix, iPlayer and Apple TV+
What to Read Next
While Joy tries to fend off the frightened Silurian with a hair dryer, The Doctor is busy travelling through different points in the 20th century to deliver a cheese toastie and a pumpkin latte.
A trip to World War II-era London sees The Doctor barge into the hotel room of a ritzy couple Hilda and Basil wistfully toasting the holiday — to be played by Casualty icon Julia Watson and Dark's Peter Benedict.
Elsewhere, The Doctor makes a mistimed visit to the Orient Expres where he crosses paths with Sylvia (Niamh Marie Smith), Edmund Hillary (Phil Baxter) and Tenzing Norgay (Samuel Sherpa-Moore).
'Joy to the World' will also feature Steph de Whalley as Anita, the receptionist at the London hotel where Joy is spending Christmas.
Related: Doctor Who merchandise and biggest summer deals
Earlier this year, Steven Moffat admitted he felt conflicted while writing the 2024 Christmas special because it might be his last-ever Doctor Who episode.
"As I got to the end of 'Boom' and 'Joy to the World', I did think, 'Is that it? Is that the final moment?' I think they both have quite good final moments for the Doctor, [so] I was thinking, 'Yeah, that could be goodbye'," he told TV Choice.
Doctor Who airs on BBC One in the UK and Disney+ elsewhere. Classic episodes of Doctor Who are available on BBC iPlayer in the UK.
Interested in talking about Doctor Who? Visit our dedicated sub-forum
Read more Doctor Who news on our dedicated homepage
Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
