Doctor Who: Ncuti Gatwa and Nicola Coughlan on Christmas special

What do you think makes Doctor Who at Christmas so special?

Gatwa says: “It feels very nice to be back with a Christmas special. It’s got such a joyous, lovely, warm Christmassy feel. There is so much heart in this story which touches on loss, love and humour, which is exactly what you want for a Christmas Day adventure with the Doctor. I can’t wait for the audience to see it, it’s very joyous.”

What can we expect from Joy to the World?

“We find the Doctor at the start of this episode alone. He’s lost his companion and he’s on the hunt for some milk! He’s landed in a very exciting hotel, and then the adventure ensues. He’s obviously still dealing with losing Ruby, who is back at home with her family, and he’s trying to fill that void with an adventure, and it is a big one!”

What was your reaction to reading the script for the first time?

“Fighting a T-Rex and working with Nicola Coughlan, Jonathan Aris, Steph de Whalley and Joel Fry was great fun! It was a really great cast and a really beautiful touching script. I was excited for the character development for the Doctor in this episode, I thought ‘this is good for you, you need this!’.”

Describe the dynamic between the Doctor and Joy.

“I think they have a really interesting dynamic. Their relationship isn’t plain sailing and there are bumps in the road, but I think Joy forces the Doctor to look into himself and his life and question it somewhat. There are also some really funny moments between them.”

How was it working with Nicola Coughlan?

“It was so much fun working with Nicola. We are fans of each other and each other’s work, and see each other out and about in London, and I’ve always loved and respected her as an actor. We’ve always wanted to work together and so this was the perfect opportunity. It’s quite tricky describing what it was like working with Nicola because everything just sounds like a bad pun – she was a Joy, she is a star, quite simply that.”

And Nicola, what can you tell us about the character of Joy?

Coughlan says: “Joy is someone that comes across very shy and retiring when you first meet her. She’s somebody who never wants to cause a fuss, and it’s a bit strange at the beginning because you see her checking into this hotel on her own on Christmas Eve and you don’t really know what her story is going to be at this stage. It seems quite unusual, and then you realise that she’s somebody who is hiding a lot of pain and has a lot of struggle in her life, but is not really facing it. When she meets the Doctor, he’s not somebody who is going to let her rest on her laurels and he really takes her through it. It’s a big adventure.”

How did this role come about?

"My agent rang me and said that Russell T Davies wants to talk to you, and that is a very exciting call to get, so of course I said ‘OK’ and he said ‘come up to Cardiff, come and do Doctor Who’. I had to say to Russell, I don’t know too much about all of this but I would love to come and do it. I’m such a big fan of Ncuti, he is a once-in-a-generation talent, and the thought of getting to act opposite him made this a very easy yes for me.”

How does it feel to be part of the ‘Whoniverse’ and more specifically, a Doctor Who Christmas special?

“It’s a huge honour. It’s such an institution, so to be part of it at all is such a brilliant thing. I know how important the Christmas special is to people. It’s the kind of thing where the whole family will sit down at Christmas, even if they aren’t regular viewers. Alex Pillai, who directed the episode, is such a huge Whovian and told us stories about him and his family watching it in the 70s. If I get to be part of that new memory for people, it’s a big honour.”​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special Joy to The World is on iPlayer and BBC One from 5.10pm on Christmas Day.