Posted in: BBC, Disney+, TV | Tagged: doctor who, steven moffat

Doctor Who Christmas Special "Last One" for Steven Moffat – Or Is It?

Steven Moffat left the door open just a bit on the idea that the Doctor Who Christmas Special "Joy to the World" might not be his last "Who."

Even though we've been down this road before – most recently with the Nicola Coughlan-starring Christmas Special "Joy to the World" ("Joy to the Worlds"?) – writer and ex-showrunner Steven Moffat made it very clear. After the upcoming holiday epic adventure for Showrunner Russell T. Davies' Ncuti Gatwa (Fifteenth Doctor) and Millie Gibson (Ruby Sunday)-starring Doctor Who, he doesn't see himself returning to the long-running series. But then again…? Maybe it has to do with the Christmas Special inching closer. Maybe it has to do with a whole bunch of "creative feels" that resurfaced over the weekend when he was live-tweeting a watchalong of "BOOM!" as part of the Doctor Who Day festivities. Whatever the reason, in the midst of everything else that was going down this weekend, we missed this moment of Moffat reopening the door just a little bit for a possible return down the road. Well, we almost missed it. "Oh, and here's a bit of Christmas. Looks good. See you then? Could be my very last one – but when have I said the before?" Moffat posted near the end of the online event, earning bonus points for admitting that he's gone down the "last one" road before.

Here's a look at Moffat's tweet from over the weekend, followed by a look back at what else we know about "Joy to the World":

Doctor Who: The Road to "Joy to the World"

In November 2023, Coughlan checked in personally via video to let fans know that they can expect to see her in the 2024 Christmas Special as a guest star in the "Joy to the World":

"Happy New Year's Eve! And the point is – there, right behind us, that's one of the sets from the Christmas 2024 episode of Doctor Who! The future! Right there ♥️ But what terrible secrets does it hide..? (etc)," Davies wrote in an Instagram post on December 31, 2023, dropping one of the earliest clues to what's to come:

In March of this year, social media posts included screencaps of Producer Alison Sterling's CV that listed the 2024 Christmas Special – with Pillai directing and Moffat penning the script. Shortly after, the listing was removed – but not replaced with a "corrected" writer. During the Radio Times Covers Party that same month, Moffat looked to shut down the idea of his returning to the long-running series. "It would be career madness, even by my standard, to go back into a junior capacity on a show I used to run. I would have to be insane to do that!" Moffat added – eventually proving that he truly was insane by penning the Season 1 episode, "BOOM."

Two months later, Moffat confirmed to TV Choice that he was writing the Pillai-directed "Joy to the World" – which would be the writer and ex-showrunner's 50th Doctor Who script. "I should probably introduce that one from an armchair, 'Here we are — number 50,'" Moffat shared. "But I'm not involved in next year's series. There are other things coming for me, so I might never write for 'Doctor Who' again. As I got to the end of 'Joy to the World,' I did think, 'Is that it? My final moment?' So that could be my goodbye. Number 50? I'll take that."

Near the end of the video above (kicking in at around the 8:45 mark) offering a behind-the-scenes look at "Empire of Death," Davies notes, "Now the Doctor voyages forward, and guess what always happens to the Doctor every so often – Christmas! Here comes Christmas. I can't give away much more, but work has begun on it already, and it's mad; it's one of the maddest Christmas specials you'll ever see. It's epic; it goes to so many different places. And it's a great story of who the Doctor is when he's alone."

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