The BBC has released two new images from the first Doctor Who 60th anniversary special, “The Star Beast.”
“The Star Beast” will air on November 25. It will be followed by two more specials, “Wild Blue Yonder” and “The Giggle,” which will debut on December 2 and December 9, respectively. Previous Doctor Who leads David Tennant and Catherine Tate will return to headline all three 60th anniversary specials.
However, of the pair, only Tate will reprise her original role. As established by Tennant’s brief cameo in the 2022 special “The Power of the Doctor,” the Scottish star will portray the Fourteenth Doctor (and not the Tenth) opposite Tate’s Donna Noble in “The Star Beast” and its sequels.
This hasn’t done much to dampen the enthusiasm of fans eager to see Tennant and Tate reunited, though. Trailers for the 60th anniversary specials have only fueled this excitement, as have a steady trickle of stills supplied by the BBC.
BBC drops two new Doctor Who 60th anniversary special stills
The latest of these, a pair of photos from “The Star Beast,” recently made their debut on X. While neither is particularly dramatic, Doctor Who devotees desperate for any additional information about the 60th anniversary specials will likely spend hours pouring over them just the same.
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It’s worth noting that the Doctor and Donna only appear together in the first photo. This still also features Donna’s mother, Sylvia (Jacqueline King), husband Shaun (Karl Collins), and daughter Rose (Yasmin Finney). Alien creature Beep the Meep is on hand in the image as well, and seemingly the topic of conversation among the rest of the group.By contrast, in the second photo, the Fourteenth Doctor sits opposite just one other person: Shirley Anne Bingham – one of the 60th anniversary specials’ new characters, played by Ruth Madeley. Little is known about Shirley at this stage, although a caption accompanying the image reveals that the Doctor “explains the past” to her during the scene in question.
A classic Doctor Who villain returns in the anniversary specials
The Fourteenth Doctor delivering an impromptu history lecture is hardly surprising, considering one of the foes he’ll face in the 60th anniversary specials. Guest star Neil Patrick Harris is confirmed to portray the Toymaker – a classic Doctor Who antagonist originally played by the late Michael Gough.
The Toymaker has featured prominently in the Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials’ promotional materials to date, likely due to Harris’ popularity. He also looms large in the latest poster for specials, which emphasizes the baddie’s flamboyant brand of villainy.
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