In commemoration of the BBC program’s 60th anniversary, the British science fiction television series Doctor Who will broadcast three special episodes in 2023. Russell T. Davies, who wrote the specials, will start his second season as showrunner. Davies previously held this position from the inception of Doctor Who’s revival in 2005 until his departure in 2010. From November 25 to December 9, 2023, the specials will air on BBC One in the United Kingdom and Ireland and on Disney+ around the world.
For the 60th anniversary of the series, David Tennant and Catherine Tate made their return. Tate reprised her role as Donna Noble, whereas Tennant debuted as the Fourteenth Doctor after having previously depicted the Tenth Doctor. Neil Patrick Harris, in addition to recurrent cast members Jacqueline King, Karl Collins, Bernard Cribbins, and Jemma Redgrave, and newcomer Yasmin Finney, appears as the Toymaker in a guest appearance.
As chief writer and executive producer of the specials, Davies oversaw his first episodes since his return to the programme. Both were declared concurrent with Davies’ return to the programme for its sixtieth anniversary and “series beyond,” which preceded the fourteenth series. Rachel Talalay, Tom Kingsley, and Chanya Button, in that order, oversaw the three specials. The production transitioned from Roath Lock Studios to Wolf Studios in July 2022, subsequent to the addition of Bad Wolf as a co-producer of the series. Filming commenced in May 2022. There was a ton of new Doctor Who media and re-releases available alongside the specials in honor of the anniversary.
