Doctor WhoNcuti Gatwa’s upcoming Christmas special pairs Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor with his second companion, and their story will begin in a very similar way to Millie Gibson’s Ruby Sunday. Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan will play Joy in “Joy to the World”, serving as Gatwa’s second companion in less than 12 months. Joy’s first adventure with Fifteen mirrors Ruby’s in a specific way, as revealed by a recent teaser for the issue.
Between Coughlan’s role in Bridgerton season 3 cast and its next Doctor Who episode, she managed to appear in two major British projects in a very short space of time. As one of the first companions of Doctor Whoit was Disney, Coughlan has the chance to redefine the position. However, although the soon-to-be-released addition of Steven Moffat to the impressive library of Doctor Who The Christmas specials will be the first to feature Coughlan’s character, her debut won’t be as original.
Ruby Sunday and Doctor Who’s Next Companion Visited the Age of Dinosaurs Right After Meeting the Doctor
Joy’s first Doctor Who episode brings her face to face with a T-Rex
Although Ruby Doctor Who debut, 2023’s “The Church on Ruby Road”, took place mainly in present-day London, she ended up traveling in the TARDIS in Doctor Who season 14, episode 1, ‘Space Babies’. To prove what the blue box was capable of, the Doctor took the two to prehistoric times so Ruby could see real-life dinosaurs with her own eyes. The teaser for “Joy to the World” confirms that Fifteen also takes Joy to visit dinosaurs – even if it seems to do so almost by accident.
There’s a big difference between Ruby’s journey to prehistoric times and Joy’s journey with the Doctor. After the Doctor corrects Ruby’s timeline changes by climbing into a butterfly, her time with the dinosaurs in Doctor Who has virtually nothing to do with the larger plot of “Space Babies.” Inversely, “Joy to the World” appears to include Earth’s dinosaur era directly into the plot. Still, it’s an interesting parallel between the two companions’ first episode.
Why Ncuti Gatwa’s doctor is taking more trips to prehistoric times
Disney’s financial contributions to Doctor Who open doors to bigger adventures
With Doctor Who Now co-produced by Disney, the long-running BBC sci-fi show has a bigger budget than ever before. Periods in the program’s history, especially Doctor Whoof the classic era, it often had to compromise the aesthetics of the episodes to prioritize the plot. With the influx of money from the Disney+ deal for the show, the Doctor can now explore settings and creatures that would previously have been much more restrictive. In short, special effects are expensive, hence the CGI dinosaur in the Doctor Who The Christmas teaser is proof that the show is making the most of its new financial advantage.