In-keeping with Doctor Who tradition, there’s a new Christmas Special coming very soon called “Joy to the World” – so grab your stockings and mince pies, because it’s super easy to tune-in to this festive viewing.
Doctor Who Christmas Specials are often the source of wacky adventures for the Time Lord, or markers for major changes in his lore. Thankfully, Joy to the World is keeping things sweet and simple this year, with the Doctor landing in a fancy Time Hotel during the holidays.
Co-starring Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlan, the new Doctor Who episode is likely to be a success with fans, especially having been penned by Steven Moffat. In fact, in our Joy to the World review, we wrote: “there are few in this galaxy who get the vibe of Doctor Who quite like Moffatt.”
To make sure you don’t miss this festive treat, we’ve laid out all the ways you can watch the new Doctor Who adventure below.
Doctor Who Christmas Special release date
In both the US and the UK, the 2024 Doctor Who Christmas Special, Joy to the World, will air on Christmas Day, December 25.
Russell T Davies, showrunner for the current Ncuti Gatwa run of Doctor Who, had one condition for returning to the show: the Christmas Special must actually air on Christmas Day.
“This was kind of like number one on my shopping list – Christmas Day,” he told Doctor Who Unleashed. “I literally went to the BBC saying, ‘Back on Christmas Day, thank you very much. Let’s have this.’ I just think it suits Doctor Who. I think the stories are more fun. Any story with tinsel in it is better than a story without tinsel in it.”
How to watch the Doctor Who Christmas Special in the US
Joy to the World is dropping on Disney+ in the US at 9:10 a.m. PST / 12:10 p.m. EST on December 25.
Doctor Who Season 14 (or Doctor Who Season 1, depending on where you are) premiered for the first time on Disney+ earlier this year. It marked the start of Disney’s new partnership with the Time Lord, so it makes perfect sense that the Christmas Special will land here, too.
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When Doctor Who Season 15 arrives in 2025, it’ll also premiere on the streaming service.
How to watch in the UK
In the UK, the Christmas Special will be available to watch on BBC iPlayer and BBC One from 5:10pm BST on December 25.
The episode will also be available to stream afterwards on iPlayer.
What is the Christmas Special about?
Joy to the World sees the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) landing in the Time Hotel, where he meets Joy (Nicola Coughlan), an ordinary young woman who finds herself caught in a time-hopping mystery.
Here’s the official episode synopsis: “The episode introduces Joy, starring Nicola Coughlan (Bridgerton, Derry Girls), who checks into a London hotel in 2024, only to discover that her quiet stay is anything but ordinary.
“When Joy opens a secret doorway to the Time Hotel, she discovers danger, dinosaurs and the Doctor. But a deadly plan is unfolding across the Earth, just in time for Christmas.
“Where has the Doctor been? What is going on in Joy’s hotel room? An old enemy of the Doctor’s is lurking in the wings and all of human history hangs in the balance. Can the Doctor save Christmas, everywhere, all at once?”
For more, check out our guides to the Doctor Who timeline explained, Every Doctor Who Season 14 villain explained, and everything we know about Doctor Who Season 15.
