Doctor Who\u2019s final 60th anniversary special, The Giggle<\/a>, delivered a major twist in its final act, exploding regeneration lore as we know it.<\/p>\n The episode saw the Fourteenth Doctor (David Tennant) go up against old foe The Toymaker<\/a> (Neil Patrick Harris), an elemental force who exists beyond the rules of the universe.<\/p>\n It looked as though this Doctor had met his end when the Toymaker commandeered UNIT\u2019s galvanic beam and blasted his foe through the chest\u2026 but rather then regenerate, the Time Lord experienced a \u201cbi-generation\u201d \u2013 thought to be a myth.<\/p>\n Fans knew, of course, that Ncuti Gatwa was set to play the Fifteenth Doctor \u2013 but rather than having Tennant\u2019s Time Lord transform into his successor, this regeneration saw the Doctor split into two, with both incarnations appearing side-by-side.<\/p>\n The pair worked together to defeat the Toymaker, defeating him in a game of catch and banishing him from our universe forever.<\/p>\n With the crisis averted and the Toymaker vanquished, Gatwa\u2019s Fifteenth Doctor resumed his travels across time and space \u2013 but for Tennant\u2019s Fourteenth, another fate lay in store\u2026<\/p>\n Previous episode The Star Beast<\/a> had seen companion Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) implore her Doctor not to leave her behind and go whizzing off into the universe again, suggesting: \u201cYou could visit with my family. We could do outrageous things like have tea, and dinner, and a laugh.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve been given a second chance \u2013 you can do things different this time. So why don\u2019t you do something completely new and have some friends?\u201d<\/p>\n Donna again urged her friend to take a break from his endless wandering in The Giggle: \u201cI got a glimpse inside your mind\u2026 and it\u2019s like you\u2019re staggering. You are staggering along.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe that\u2019s why your old face came back. You\u2019re wearing yourself out.\u201d<\/p>\n With two Doctors now co-existing and the universe safe in Fifteen\u2019s capable hands, the Fourteenth Doctor was finally able to take a well-earned break, opting to remain on Earth with Donna and the Noble family.<\/p>\n Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies had previously hinted that the Fourteenth Doctor\u2019s arc would resolve with an \u201cextraordinary\u201d twist<\/a> and \u201ca scene we\u2019ve never played before in the whole 60 years of Doctor Who.\u201d<\/p>\n The Giggle certainly delivered that, effectively bringing one era of Doctor Who \u2013 spanning the show\u2019s first six decades \u2013 to an end and rebooting the series for further adventures with the new Doctor.<\/p>\n Ncuti Gatwa will return as the Doctor in 2023 Christmas special, The Church on Ruby Road<\/a>, airing at 5.55pm on Christmas Day on BBC One.<\/p>\n The special will see the Fifteenth Doctor, played by Gatwa, take over the TARDIS and be joined by new companion Ruby Sunday, played by Millie Gibson<\/a>, with the pair encountering \u201cmythical and mysterious goblins\u201d.<\/p> Doctor Who is available to watch on BBC iPlayer and <\/strong>on BritBox \u2013 you can sign up for a\u00a07-day free trial here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Check out more of our Sci-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 Russell T Davies had promised fans an “extraordinary” ending to the Fourteenth Doctor’s arc. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":41458,"template":"","categories":[1,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/12\/doctor-whos-the-giggle-stuns-with-game-changing-regeneration-twist.jpg",1492,994,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/12\/doctor-whos-the-giggle-stuns-with-game-changing-regeneration-twist-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/12\/doctor-whos-the-giggle-stuns-with-game-changing-regeneration-twist-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/12\/doctor-whos-the-giggle-stuns-with-game-changing-regeneration-twist-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/12\/doctor-whos-the-giggle-stuns-with-game-changing-regeneration-twist-1024x682.jpg",800,533,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/12\/doctor-whos-the-giggle-stuns-with-game-changing-regeneration-twist.jpg",1492,994,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/12\/doctor-whos-the-giggle-stuns-with-game-changing-regeneration-twist.jpg",1492,994,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Russell T Davies had promised fans an \"extraordinary\" ending to the Fourteenth Doctor's arc.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/41456"}],"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\/41458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"The](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/12\/tennant-regeneration-e32fcb6.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"tennant-regeneration\\"\/")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>![\"Ncuti](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/11\/ncuti-gatwa-doctor-who-83cd714.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"ncuti-gatwa-doctor-who\\"\/")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"