Showrunner and Executive Producer Russell T Davies Talks The Doctor Who Christmas Special

Pushing The Time Envelope

The Doctor Who Christmas Special was on Christmas Day on the BBC and yesterday on Disney Plus and here’s its Showrunner and Executive Producer Russell T Davies talking about it…

What do you think makes Doctor Who at Christmas so special?

Christmas is just built into the show. It’s a family show – it’s entertaining, it’s fun. Also, Doctor Who is a good old-fashioned melodrama. All the best Christmas stories have ghosts and monsters, and then all of a sudden there’s a danger at the edge of it.

It goes right back to the early years of the show. The first Doctor Who Christmas special was in 1965 where they decided to do a crossover with Z-Cars. For those old enough to remember, it was a very old police show. It was such a pantomime and at the end, the Doctor turned to the camera and wished everyone a Merry Christmas. It’s been there in the bones of the show for decades now – for 60+ years, so it’s become a great tradition.

What can audiences expect to see from Joy to the World?

A huge range of things. I think our design department has never had to create so many sets from so many different places. Part of the reason for that is that it’s set in a Time Hotel, which can open up a portal to anywhere. Once Steven Moffat comes up with an idea like that then his imagination goes anywhere. There was steam and sweat coming out of the design department at many stages but it’s ended up, as a result, looking absolutely glorious. It’s quite the combination between being both a madcap story but equally heartbreaking, and that’s what Steven does. It’s amazing.

What was your reaction when Steven Moffat told you his idea for this episode?

We had been talking for a while about writing this idea for Season 2, and then that idea became this, so it was a long conversation. The moment he mentioned Time Hotel, I had a huge smile on my face because I just knew that it would work, little knowing how brilliant he would actually make it. He always promises something, and then delivers far, far more so it was a joy to get that script.

Can you tell us about how Nicola’s casting came about?

Nicola was the number one choice for the number one part. It was one of those offers you make first, immediately, and hope that it works. Nicola is so busy, she’s on Bridgerton and travelling all over the world, but we knew that Ncuti and Nicola knew each other, so that was a great advantage. It gave us more of a chance than before. Then she said yes immediately, and we laughed all the way home that night. What a joy she is, a really lovely woman.

Describe the dynamic on set between Ncuti and Nicola.

Just lovely, here comes another new best friend for the Doctor! That’s partly what the story is about. Steven has written that aspect in really beautifully, the fact that the Doctor is alone now and it’s Christmas, and he normally has a companion at his side. I don’t often go on set, but I did go on set for the jungle sequence for this episode, which is one of the most extraordinary sets we’ve ever built. It was just two really great mates sitting down together, laughing, working, happy and collaborating. It’s a really lovely partnership.

What was your reaction seeing Nicola as Joy for the first time?

It’s a beautiful costume. Pam Downe, our costume designer, got that exactly right. We had quite the conversation about the beret, and whether that would be too cute or too funny or too sweet, and then Nicola puts it on and it was just too perfect. I remember being told a long time ago by a magazine editor that they like any images that clearly show Christmas in them – holly and tinsel and snowflakes. We’ve got Joy looking joyous, and so it felt really lovely.

Where will you be watching the episode on Christmas Day?

I will be at home in Swansea, I will be at my sisters house. I have two sisters and they take it in turns to make Christmas dinner. To be honest, we’re normally all busy being noisy and I’ll probably have to catch up and end up watching it at about midnight. Having seen it about fifty times, this episode is so wonderful. Stay tuned for the very last minutes. It’s beautiful.

If you had access to the Time Hotel, where would you go first?

I would go to Christmas 2012, in Swansea. I wasn’t actually there. I was in Manchester. I can’t go into too much detail but somebody in my family got so drunk and so rude about the rest of the family that it’s now become legend, and I’ll go to my grave wishing that I had been there. We’re still laughing about it to this day. It’s twelve years later, and it’s still the funniest thing that ever happened to the Davies’!

Can you tease anything to come in the upcoming second season?

Danger. Enemies like we’ve never seen before. We stretched the envelope last season, but we get even madder and wilder. The joy, really, is the new companion – Varada Sethu playing Belinda Chandra – who comes aboard the TARDIS with a very strong story that spans the entire season. It’s glorious, and I’m very proud of it.

Here’s our review of the Christmas Special too

Our Man In Los Angeles Reviews The Doctor Who Christmas Special