The longest-running Sci-Fi show, Doctor Who is celebrating its 60th Anniversary with three special episodes and the return of one of the most beloved Doctors, David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor. Here is all you need to know about Doctor Who's 60th Anniversary Special’s release date, cast, plot, and trailers!
In these special episodes, we’ll also be seeing the first major appearance of Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor on the small screen as he will be leading Doctor Who’s Fourteenth season.
Table of Contents
- When Is Doctor Who's 60th Anniversary Special’s Release Date?
- Who Are The Creatives Behind the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials?
- Who Are The Cast of Doctor Who's 60th Anniversary Special?
- What Will Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Special Be About?
- Is There a Trailer for the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Special?
For now, though, let's dive deep into the return of the Doctor and Donna Noble in the Doctor Who Special!
When Is Doctor Who's 60th Anniversary Special’s Release Date?
Featuring the ambiguous return of David Tennant’s The Tenth Doctor as the Fourteenth Doctor, the 60th Anniversary Special will certainly be one to remember.
Many Whovians were quite shocked when the Doctor regenerated into his body, following Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor.
Considering that the Time Lord has never reverted to his previous forms, the Tenth Doctor’s comeback remains a mystery, which will likely be answered once the 60th Anniversary Special episodes drop on Disney Plus this year.
On October 26th, Disney Plus released the official trailer for Doctor Who's 60th Anniversary Specials in which the release date has finally been unveiled!
Initially teased to release sometime in November, the anniversary specials start streaming on November 25, two days after the series' anniversary date. Here's a full confirmed list of when each anniversary special will be released:
The first episode, The Star Beast, debuts on November 25. The second episode, Wild Blue Yonder, follows suit on December 2, while the last episode for the Doctor Who 60th anniversary special, The Giggle, will premiere on December 9.
It is also worth mentioning that these anniversary special episodes are separate things from when the fifteenth doctor, Ncuti Gatwa, makes his debut in the Doctor Who Christmas Special.
Who Are The Creatives Behind the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials?
Russell T. Davies, aka the showrunner of the beloved BBC show from 2005-2010 and 2023 up to the present day, has returned to write the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials.
Working beside Davies are Joel Collins, Phil Collinson, Julie Gardner, and Jane Tranter as executive producers.
As for the helmers behind each of the three special episodes: Rachel Talalay (The Star Beast), Tom Kingsley (Wild Blue Yonder), and Chanya Button (The Giggle).
David Tennant’s Return: Why Did the Tenth Doctor Regenerate Back?
While many have speculated that the Tenth Doctor will always be the favorite among Doctor Who fans, there’s a perfect explanation behind his return in the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Special.
Since David played the Time Lord for over five years (and notably has the longest seasons among the rest), he’s undoubtedly the best to have played the role that fully embodied the character during his run.
Tennant, like many ex-Doctors on the show, made his cameo in The Day of the Doctor (50th Anniversary Special episode) where he joined Matt Smith’s The Eleventh Doctor and Tom Baker’s The Fourth Doctor.
However, this is the first in Doctor Who history where The Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) regenerated back into the Tenth Doctor’s body as the Fourteenth Doctor.
RELATED: Doctor Who: Why Does David Tennant's Doctor Keep Coming Back in the Series?
The least the showrunner Russell T Davies revealed on Entertainment Weekly about this phenomenon is that:
“I realized that there was a third act to be written, and it was so much fun writing it. On a really simple level, it’s working with two of the best actors in the world. I love them. I love them as friends. I love their presence. I’m really interested to push the Doctor and Donna into things they’ve never done before.”
As for David Tennant, the 52-year-old actor claimed that his comeback as the Fourteenth Doctor was ‘highly motivated by his age’, as he previously told Radio Times:
“The specifics of coming back to Doctor Who took a bit of wrangling. But we were always receptive to the notion. Initially, it was a casual conversation going, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun to do a one-off?’ Then Russell [T Davies] was back running the show and suddenly it could be something bigger. But there’s really no pressure. It’s a victory lap, in a way — you get to enjoy something that had meant so much to you, one last shot before you get too old to do it again.”
BBC Celebrates David Tennant's Comeback
A musical special aired on BBC Radio 2 on October 24th, a filmed broadcast that is reportedly set to stream on iPlayer, though the release date has yet to be confirmed.
The program is set to celebrate David Tennant's Doctor Who comeback, in which we 'travel back through the BBC archives to tell the story of the Doctor's classic era', which will have Tennant as its broadcasting host.
The broadcast features clips of William Hartnell's first incarnation of the seventh Doctor, Sylvester McCoy.
There's another BTS scenes special happening for the long-running sci-fi series which is Doctor Who: Unleashed. This BTS series lands on BBC Three and iPlayer starting with its first episode, which will air following the first episode of the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Special on November 25th.
60 Years of Doctor Who Births The Whoniverse
Here's where you can watch over 800 episodes of the entire Doctor Who series: the BBC iPlayer, where it's been officially named The Whoniverse.
As of November 1, The Whoniverse will be the dedicated home for every Doctor Who-related episode, including the newest spinoff where the brand new six-part series features reunited classic Doctor Who duos on the TARDIS.
In addition to that, BBC will be launching an elaborate online archive of Doctor Who's entire history at bbc.co.uk/doctorwho where every behind-the-scene footage including interviews and written documents of the casts, unheard audio and photos will be made available.
Who Are The Cast of Doctor Who's 60th Anniversary Special?
David Tennant’s return to the Doctor Who series was quite a surprise. Given that, among the many previous Doctors, the Tenth Doctor’s appearance throughout the running BBC show remains the most prominent.
But this time, the Tenth Doctor has become the Fourteenth Doctor. This turned out to be one of the many hidden secrets behind the presumably strongest Time Lord.
Apart from Tennant, we’ll be seeing him reunite with one of his iconic companions, Donna Temple-Noble played by Catherine Tate, whose memory was wiped since the last time they had to part ways. More on that later, though.
We will also be seeing Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor in action in the Anniversary Special as their team goes up against Neil Patrick Harris’ villain, the Celestial Toy Maker.
Meanwhile, here are the rest of the cast starring in the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Special:
- Bernard Cribbins as Wilfred Mott
- Yasmin Finney as Rose Temple-Noble
- Jacqueline King as Sylvia Noble
- Karl Collins as Shaun Temple
- Ruth Madeley as Shirley Anne Bingham
- Miriam Margoyles as Beep the Meep
- Ronak Patani as Major Singh
- Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart
RELATED: Doctor Who: Who is Neil Patrick Harris Playing in the Series?
What Will Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Special Be About?
Since its 2005 revival, Doctor Who has always made a habit of releasing Christmas or New Year’s special episodes.
It was last year’s Christmas Day when the Sci-Fi show suddenly released a teaser trailer for the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Special, indicating the return of David Tennant and Catherine Tate.
This led fans into a frenzy, celebrating what may or may not be the last time we’ll be seeing the two reunite since they parted ways in Doctor Who Season 4, Episode 11.
A little recap on that: in the Doctor Who Season 4 finale, while Donna was able to help the Doctor fight against the Daleks, this resulted in a timebomb burning in the back of Donna's mind, which led to the Tenth Doctor wiping her memories of their adventures together.
It was one of the most unfortunate parting stories the Doctor had ever encountered in his run, considering that his previous companions still had their memories with him.
With the 60th Anniversary Special, Davies is giving another chance to live another Doctor and Donna duo era for fans to enjoy and for the series to thrive on.
Despite being an Anniversary Special, there’s no doubt that this will hold what the future episodes of Doctor Who Season 14 will turn out to be, especially considering that the Fifteenth Doctor will be leading the series soon enough.
As for what the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Special be about, the ‘specials’ will be releasing three episodes, as their titles were previously teased on May 13, 2023: The Star Beast, Wild Blue Yonder, and The Giggle, most of which would likely revolve around Neil Patrick Harris' the Toymaker.
READ MORE: Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Trailer Breakdown: Easter Eggs and References You May Have Missed
Is There a Trailer for the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Special?
Apart from the special series’ episode titles reveal, the Doctor Who Anniversary Special received its official trailer in September, which you can check out below:
As for the second official trailer, this one includes the streaming start date of the anniversary specials. The Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Special starts streaming on November 25 on Disney Plus!
Doctor Who’s official Instagram page also unleashed snippets of what each episode could behold for fans. The first featured clip was a teaser for The Star Beast, followed by a small teaser for Wild Blue Yonder, and lastly, for the third episode, The Giggle.
For more Geek Culture news stories and updates, you can check out more right here on EpicStream!
Explore new topics and discover content that's right for you!