List of Doctor Who Christmas specials

Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The show has been a large influence in the media since its inception in 1963. Along with the regular series, special Christmas episodes have also been broadcast since the programme's revival in 2005.

During the first run of the programme (1963 to 1989), while not a Christmas special, one episode aired on Christmas Day: "The Feast of Steven", the seventh episode of the twelve-part serial The Daleks' Master Plan, which aired on 25 December 1965. The episode, currently missing from the BBC archive, was a comic interlude in the style of a pantomime, in the middle of an otherwise epic adventure.^[1] In its final scene the Doctor and his companions celebrated Christmas with a toast; the episode ended with the Doctor (William Hartnell) turning to camera (breaking the fourth wall) and saying, "Incidentally, a happy Christmas to all of you at home."^[1]

Episodes

"The Feast of Steven"

Special	Story	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	UK viewers (millions) [2]	AI [2]
–	21	The Daleks' Master Plan "The Feast of Steven"^†	Douglas Camfield	Terry Nation and Dennis Spooner	25 December 1965	V	7.9	39
Some six months after the events of "Mission to the Unknown", the TARDIS arrives on the planet Kembel, and the Doctor leaves the TARDIS to try to find medical aid for the wounded Steven Taylor leaving him with the Trojan girl Katarina. Seventh episode of the serial.

^† : Episode is missing

Christmas specials

Special	Story	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	UK viewers (millions) [2]	AI [2]
1	167	"The Christmas Invasion"	James Hawes	Russell T Davies	25 December 2005	2X	9.84	84
Rose and the newly-regenerated Tenth Doctor return to Rose's house, where Rose, her mother Jackie (Camille Coduri) and her former boyfriend Mickey Smith (Noel Clarke) carry him inside to rest. When out shopping, Rose and Mickey are attacked by Santa robots; the Doctor theorises that energy from his regeneration has lured them here. Prime Minister Harriet Jones (Penelope Wilton) is threatened by the leader of the Sycorax to give them half of the Earth's population as slaves; Harriet tries to negotiate and is transmatted on their ship. Rose, Mickey, and Jackie drag the Doctor onto the TARDIS, but the TARDIS is detected by the Sycorax and they transport it to their ship, with Rose, Mickey, and the Doctor inside. After the Doctor has fully recovered, he challenges the Sycorax leader to a sword fight for the future of the Earth, which he eventually wins. However, the Sycorax ship is destroyed against the Doctor's wishes by Harriet Jones, who had called Torchwood on the matter.
2	178	"The Runaway Bride"	Euros Lyn	Russell T Davies	25 December 2006	3X	9.35	84
Donna (Catherine Tate), a woman about to walk down the aisle on her wedding day, suddenly materialises in the TARDIS, much to the shock of both her and the Doctor, who has just said his final goodbyes to Rose Tyler. While trying to get her back to her wedding, the Time Lord discovers that Donna has unwittingly been placed into the center of an alien plot to release an alien spider's offspring trapped in the centre of the Earth, which would thereby destroy the planet. The two must face the Empress of Racnoss (Sarah Parish), the alien spider and the last of her kind, together to stop it.
3	188	"Voyage of the Damned"	James Strong	Russell T Davies	25 December 2007	4X	13.31	86
The Doctor finds his TARDIS colliding with an interstellar replica of the famous ocean liner Titanic orbiting present-day Earth, during a Christmas party. With the help of a waitress named Astrid (Kylie Minogue) and several passengers, the Doctor must take on an enemy called the Heavenly Host as the lives of the Titanic crew and those on Earth are in danger. The angels have been tasked with killing everyone aboard and crashing the space liner into the Earth. The reason why is not obvious though the ship's owner, Max Capricorn, has his reasons. Can the Doctor stop the Christmas inferno?
4	199	"The Next Doctor"	Andy Goddard	Russell T Davies	25 December 2008	4.14	13.10	86
This special sees the return of the Cybermen (of the design of the parallel universe's Cybus Industries Cybermen), following their previous appearance in the two-part finale of series two in 2006, "Army of Ghosts"/"Doomsday". Having fallen back in time to Victorian London, the Cybermen create a huge "Cyber-King" with child labour and the help of Miss Hartigan (Dervla Kirwan). Meanwhile Jackson Lake (David Morrissey) has accidentally absorbed the Doctor's memories and thinks himself to be the Doctor.
5	202	The End of Time	Euros Lyn	Russell T Davies	25 December 2009 1 January 2010	4.17 4.18	12.04 12.27	87 89
The Doctor learns from the Ood that the Master (John Simm) will be returning soon. A cult of the Master has resurrected him using the ring dropped at the end of "Last of the Time Lords", but Lucy Saxon sabotages the process, causing the Master to experience intense hunger and energy expenditure, which also gives him powers beyond those of other Time Lords. In his investigations, the Doctor meets up with Wilfred Mott and they both travel to the Naismith Institute where they have enlisted to repair an alien "Immortality Gate". However, the Master uses the gate to re-write the DNA of all humans on the planet with his own, creating a planet of Masters. Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) and Wilf (Bernard Cribbins) are shielded from this. Far across the universe, Rassilon (Timothy Dalton) heralds the return of Gallifrey and the end of time itself. The Doctor and Wilf are rescued by two alien Vinvocci who were working undercover at the Institute to retrieve the "Immortality Gate" and take refuge in their spaceship above Earth. It is then revealed that Rassilon had placed the sound of drums in the Master's head as a signal that he could use to pull Gallifrey out of Time-Lock via a white-point star. Gallifrey materialises above Earth, with all the other horrors of the Time War likely to follow. Armed with Wilf's gun, the Doctor stands off against Rassilon to break the link between Gallifrey and Earth. To do this, he must either shoot the Master or Rassilon, but instead he shoots the white-point star, which causes Rassilon and Gallifrey to recede back into Time-Lock. Rassilon attempts to kill the Doctor, but the Master sacrifices himself to save him. Meanwhile, Wilf has trapped himself in the Gate's isolation chamber, which is about to flood with deadly radiation. The Doctor activates the chamber's other compartment, saving Wilf but irradiating himself. He holds off regeneration while he goes on a "farewell tour", visiting all of his companions. Alone in the TARDIS, the Doctor regenerates, giving off such violent energy that the console room is set ablaze. The Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) inspects his new body as the stricken TARDIS plummets earthward.
6	213	"A Christmas Carol"	Toby Haynes	Steven Moffat	25 December 2010	2.X	12.11	83
A space liner containing 4,000 people and Amy and Rory on their honeymoon becomes caught in an electrified cloud. The Doctor, summoned by Amy, lands on the planet beneath and discovers that the atmosphere is controlled by the miserly Kazran Sardick (Michael Gambon) who refuses to let the ship safely land. The Doctor travels back to Kazran's youth and attempts to alter his past to make him kinder, spending time adventuring with young Kazran and a young woman named Abigail (Katherine Jenkins), who was released from a cryogenic chamber as her singing abilities calm the sharks which occupy the atmosphere. However, Abigail was suffering from an incurable disease, and Kazran grows up bitter that she cannot be let out again or she will die; however, the Doctor shows Kazran's younger self what he would become and he decides to release the ship. As he needs his sonic screwdriver which had been eaten by a shark, the Doctor convinces Kazran to release Abigail to sing, and the two enjoy their last time together.
7	225	"The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe"	Farren Blackburn	Steven Moffat	25 December 2011	X11	10.77	84
The Doctor crash-lands on Earth in 1938. He is helped back to the TARDIS by Madge Arwell (Claire Skinner), and promises to repay her for her kindness. Three years later, Madge's husband Reg (Alexander Armstrong) has disappeared while piloting an Avro Lancaster bomber in the Second World War, but as it is so close to Christmas she keeps it a secret from her two children, Lily (Holly Earl) and Cyril (Maurice Cole). The three evacuate London to stay at a house in Dorset, of which the Doctor masquerades as the caretaker. Cyril is lured through a large glowing present beneath the tree, which is in fact a portal to a winter planet the Doctor had planned to take the family to. Looking for Cyril, the Doctor and Lily and later Madge enter the box; Madge encounters miners, who plan to harvest the trees on the planet by melting them with acid rain. Meanwhile, Lily and the Doctor have followed Cyril's tracks to a tower where humanoid wooden creatures are trying to put a crown on Cyril, which will allow the souls of the trees to escape. When Madge arrives she is deemed "strong" enough to pilot the top of the tower to safety. When they land, Reg is alive as he had followed the light from the tower and landed safely. The Doctor turns down Christmas dinner with the family and instead visits his former companions and in-laws Amy and Rory, two years after he last saw them.
8	231	"The Snowmen"	Saul Metzstein	Steven Moffat	25 December 2012	–	9.87	87
Depressed after the loss of Amy and Rory, the Doctor hides himself in Victorian London, vowing never to save the world again. Meanwhile, the "Great Intelligence", a form of "memory snow" which can mirror the thoughts of anything around it, hatches a plot to create an army of ice people. While Strax drives the reluctant Doctor around, they both run into Clara, a barmaid. The Doctor refuses to investigate the snowmen and returns to semi-seclusion in the TARDIS, which is parked in a cloud above London, accessible from ground level via a staircase. By following the Doctor, Clara finds the TARDIS, but leaves, without talking to the Doctor. However, Clara soon returns to her regular job as a governess and learns of an imminent danger to her wards and possibly all of humanity. She turns to the Doctor for help and, motivated through Clara's charm and an interesting set of coincidences, the Doctor takes action. Together with Madame Vastra, Jenny Flint, and Strax, the Doctor and Clara are able to defeat the Great Intelligence and its human servant, Doctor Simeon, using ingenuity and the pure energy of a family crying on Christmas Eve. In the process, the Doctor regains his enthusiasm for adventure and heroism, deciding to take Clara on as his companion. However, before the enemies are defeated Clara is thrown off the edge of a cloud and falls to her death, though the Doctor was sure she would survive. At the end of the episode, the Doctor discovers Clara's full name – Clara Oswin Oswald – and comes to the realisation that Clara is the same person as Oswin Oswald from the episode "Asylum of the Daleks". He concludes that she is more than likely still alive in some other place and time and leaves in the newly-redesigned TARDIS to find her.
9	241	"The Time of the Doctor"	Jamie Payne	Steven Moffat	25 December 2013	–	11.14	83
A message echoing through all of time and space emanates from the farming town of Christmas on the planet Trenzalore, where a prophecy states the Doctor will spend the last of his years. With the help of the Papal Mainframe, the Doctor and Clara travel to the village and discover that the message is being sent from Gallifrey by the Time Lords. Sending Clara home, he proceeds to spend hundreds of years fighting and defending Trenzalore against hordes of aliens determined to prevent the Time Lords from returning. Clara returns to find the Daleks are the last remaining aliens, and that the Doctor has fought for so long, with no more regenerations, that he is on the cusp of dying of old age. As the Doctor faces his last stand, Clara convinces the Time Lords to give the Doctor a new regeneration cycle. The Doctor begins to regenerate, destroying the Daleks and ending the war. Clara returns to the TARDIS to find a rejuvenated Doctor about to finish his regeneration. After vowing to remember the incarnation he was and hallucinating a final goodbye to Amy Pond, he finally regenerates into the Twelfth Doctor, as the TARDIS suddenly begins crashing.
10	253	"Last Christmas"	Paul Wilmshurst	Steven Moffat	25 December 2014	–	8.28	82
Clara is awakened and discovers Santa Claus on her rooftop. As she tries to deny his existence, the Doctor arrives and takes her away in the TARDIS. At the North Pole, a group of scientists work on trying to save their fellow base personnel who have been taken over by crab-like creatures. The Doctor and Clara arrive at the base and come under attack from the crabs, only to be rescued by Santa. The Doctor realizes the creatures are Dream Crabs, alien crabs that induce a dream state while devouring a person's brain. The Doctor realizes everyone is in a dream, with Santa being part of it. They escape when they dream that Santa is flying them home. One by one they wake up and their crabs die, until only Clara is left. The Doctor awakens and removes the crab from Clara, only to discover that it has been 62 years for her since they last met. Santa appears and the Doctor realizes he is still dreaming. Back in reality, the Doctor finds Clara at her normal age. He asks Clara if she wants to rejoin him aboard the TARDIS; she accepts.
11	263	"The Husbands of River Song"	Douglas Mackinnon	Steven Moffat	25 December 2015	–	7.69	82
The Doctor is on the planet Mendorax Dellora in 5343, where due to a case of mistaken identity is recruited by his former companion and wife River Song to assist her in removing a diamond from the head of King Hydroflax after his maligned attempt to steal it. Surprised that River cannot identify his newest face, the Doctor struggles to break the news to her while learning how she acts on her own – and how many other lovers she has had. The Doctor and River bring the head of Hydroflax to the starship Harmony and Redemption to sell it, and a series of events cause River to finally discover the Doctor's identity. The starship is caught in a meteor strike and crashes into the planet Darillium, where the Doctor and River are fated to have their final date together before River dies meeting a younger Doctor ("Forest of the Dead"). Having deliberately held it off for as long as possible, the Doctor finally decides to give in and arranges for a restaurant to be constructed on the planet. The Doctor and River then have their final date together, which lasts for 24 years – the span of a night on Darillium.
12	264	"The Return of Doctor Mysterio"[3][4]	Ed Bazalgette[5]	Steven Moffat[6]	25 December 2016[6]	–	TBD	TBA

Home media release

The DVD cover art for Doctor Who – The 10 Christmas Specials.

The ten Christmas specials between "The Christmas Invasion" and "Last Christmas" inclusive were released in a boxset titled Doctor Who – The 10 Christmas Specials on 19 October 2015.^[7]

See also

• List of Doctor Who serials

References

1. Cornell, Paul; Day, Martin; Topping, Keith; Howe, David J.; Walker, Stephen James. "Doctor Who: The Classic Series — The Daleks' Masterplan". BBC Doctor Who website. BBC. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
2. "Ratings Guide". Doctor Who News.
3. "Doctor Who Christmas show to feature Doctor Mysterio". BBC.co.uk. 7 October 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
4. "2016 Christmas Special: The Return of Doctor Mysterio | Doctor Who TV". www.doctorwhotv.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
5. "'Poldark' director joins 'Doctor Who' Christmas special". CultBox. 22 September 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
6. "Everything we know so far about 'Doctor Who' Season 10". CultBox. 20 August 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
7. "Doctor Who News: Doctor Who - The Ten Christmas Specials". Doctor Who News. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 8 October 2015.