Following on from the three 60th anniversary specials<\/a> that conclude with The Giggle, Ncuti Gatwa<\/a> finally takes over the reins of the role of The Doctor in time for the festive season.<\/p>\n The episode will also see the long-anticipated debut of former Coronation Street actress Millie Gibson<\/a> as the new full-time companion Ruby Sunday.<\/p>\n So, when can we expect the Doctor Who 2023 Christmas special to arrive on our screens?<\/p>\n Doctor Who Christmas special: The Church on Ruby Road is released on Monday 25th December 2023 at 5.55 pm GMT<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The episode will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK, while it will also be released at the same time on Disney+ in international territories.<\/p>\n The episode is 55 minutes in length.<\/p>\n Read more<\/strong><\/p>\n The following cast members have been confirmed for the Doctor Who Christmas special: The Church on Ruby Road.<\/p>\n Here is what else we know about these cast members\u2026<\/p>\n Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa will have his first solo episode as The Doctor, while former Coronation Street actress Millie Gibson will make her debut as new regular companion Ruby Sunday.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a Sin actress Michelle Greenidge will also debut as Ruby\u2019s mother Carla Sunday, while EastEnders icon Angela Wynter will be seen as Carla\u2019s mother Cherry Sunday.<\/p>\n Fellow EastEnders icon Anita Dobson<\/a> will also appear as Ruby\u2019s neighbour Mrs Flood, while Davina McCall will appear<\/a> in the episode as herself, having lent her vocal talents to the 2005 episode Bad Wolf.<\/p>\n Davina told the BBC: \u201cIt is beyond an honour to be asked to appear in not only Doctor Who but also Ncuti\u2019s first episode as the new Doctor. It was such an extraordinary experience and Russell has written you all a Christmas delight! Now I just can\u2019t wait for everyone to see it!\u201d<\/p>\n Mary Malone and Hemi Yeroham also guest star in the episode.<\/p>\n The focus of The Church on Ruby Road is the origins of Ruby Sunday and how she first crosses paths with The Doctor.<\/p>\n The official logline for the episode from the BBC reads: \u201cLong ago, on Christmas Eve, a baby was abandoned in the snow. Today, Ruby Sunday meets the Doctor, goblins, stolen babies and, perhaps, the secret of her birth.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking about the episode to the BBC, showrunner and writer Russell T Davies commented: \u201cFrom Day One in this job, I wanted Doctor Who back on Christmas Day! And with Ncuti, Millie, Davina and the Goblin King, I hope it\u2019s a feast for all the family!\u201d<\/p>\n Read More:<\/strong><\/p>\n A full trailer will likely be released at the end of The Giggle, the final 60th anniversary special.<\/p>\n However, clips of Gatwa and Gibson have appeared in larger Doctor Who trailers and in the BBC festive lineup\u2019s trailer.<\/p>\n Doctor Who: The Church on Ruby Road airs at 5.55pm on Monday 25th December on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Classic episodes are available on BritBox \u2013 you can sign up for a 7-day free trial here.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Check out more of our\u00a0Sci-Fi<\/a>\u00a0coverage or visit our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Streaming Guide<\/a>\u00a0to find out what\u2019s on.<\/strong><\/p>\n Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only \u00a310 \u2013\u00a0subscribe now<\/a>. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to\u00a0The Radio Times Podcast<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n It will be our first time seeing Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson in action together. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":41374,"template":"","categories":[1,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/12\/doctor-who-2023-christmas-special-release-date-cast-news-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/12\/doctor-who-2023-christmas-special-release-date-cast-news-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/12\/doctor-who-2023-christmas-special-release-date-cast-news-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/12\/doctor-who-2023-christmas-special-release-date-cast-news-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/12\/doctor-who-2023-christmas-special-release-date-cast-news-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/12\/doctor-who-2023-christmas-special-release-date-cast-news-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/12\/doctor-who-2023-christmas-special-release-date-cast-news-2048x1365.jpg",2048,1365,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"It will be our first time seeing Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson in action together.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/41373"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Doctor Who 2023 Christmas special release date<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Doctor Who 2023 Christmas special cast<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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![\"Anita](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/anita-dobson-doctor-who-d23475a.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Anita")
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\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>Doctor Who 2023 Christmas special plot<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Millie](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/11\/millie-gibson-doctor-who-7dab1f7.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"millie-gibson-doctor-who\\"\/")
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Is there a trailer for the Doctor Who 2023 Christmas special?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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