Doctor Who has always been a staple of my life. From being little and watching it in the living room with my sister, hiding behind cushions when we saw the weeping angels, to watching its CBBC spin-off series The Sarah Jane Smith Adventures. I remember watching it and seeing Peter Capaldi’s series with Bill (Pearl Mackie)- some of the first LGBTQ+ representation I saw on screen. To put it plainly, Doctor Who has been a huge part of my life and, consequently, the highly anticipated 60th Anniversary Specials will be at the top of my list, as soon as they’re released.
From what we can tell from the trailer and the series’ promotional videos, this edition will be all about Donna Noble (Catherine Tate), and something coming after her. From David Tennant’s Doctor Who series, we know that at the end of it, he made the decision for Donna to forget about everything she’d been through with him, for the sake of her own life. So, for these specials, it will certainly be interesting how they re-tell her about the Doctor and the life she once lived. Moreover, as it’s taking place further into the future since we last saw her character, we will meet her new family, including upcoming actress Yasmin Finney who will play Rose, a character suspected by fans to be Donna’s daughter. Finney is best known for her work as Elle on Heartstopper, where she showed off her talent for acting; her character of Rose will most definitely be someone to look out for.
It has been confirmed that David Tennant will be returning as the Fourteenth Doctor, not the Tenth as he was previously. Consequently, fans are questioning when and where Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor will come into place. Will there be 2 Doctors present at the same time, like the 50th anniversary special with Tennant and Matt Smith? Or will Ncuti Gatwa enter at the end as an introduction to his series of the beloved show? As an avid fan, I’m hoping for another Doctor crossover, with an interaction between Gatwa and Tennant’s doctors. Furthermore, considering how much marketing and promotion for these specials has included Gatwa, it seems impossible that he would only appear for a small segment of the last episode. Though, we know this has been done before in other franchises, with the likes of Zendaya being on the entire press tour of Dune: Part One, despite only having about 15 minutes of screen time in the actual film.
Will there be 2 Doctors present at the same time, like the 50th anniversary special with Tennant and Matt Smith? Or will Ncuti Gatwa enter at the end as an introduction to his series of the beloved show?
With the return of Tennant and Tate, it beckons the question of will their villains return too? Will we see the Clockwork Robots or the infamous Cassandra be revived? And will the King himself, Russell T. Davies, be able to save Doctor Who with his return to the franchise?
There are many questions we will have until the Specials are released, and until we have a definitive release date for them, we will just have to wait until the Doctor returns.
