Doctor Who – BBC1
As the new year begins, a terrifying evil is stirring from across the centuries of Earth's history. The Doctor and her crew may have finally met their match
Instead of the Christmas Day episode of Doctor Who that we’re used to, we’ve had to wait a little longer than usual for the Doctor Who special this festive season.
But if this year’s series is anything to go by, then it’ll be well worth it.
This evening’s adventure begins when Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor – complete with a rather fetching new scarf – and friends Ryan, Graham and Yasmin return to Earth and find it under threat from a terrifying evil creeping down the centuries of the planet’s history.
Call the Midwife star Charlotte Ritchie and Indian Summers’ Nikesh Patel guest star, but will the Daleks also be making an appearance?
Either way, it should be a total blast.
TV Times rating: *****
Here, in an exclusive interview with TV Times, Charlotte, 29, tells us more about her adventures in time and space…
Did you enjoy being in this special episode of Doctor Who?
It was brilliant and so exciting, but also a bit terrifying – I’ve heard the show has quite a big fan base, so the pressure is high to do a good job! It was a big departure for me and I felt lucky to be doing something so different that put me out of my comfort zone.
How was it working with Jodie and the rest of the cast?
They were all amazing and so welcoming. We filmed this before the series began on TV, but after working with Jodie I knew she would be brilliant. She has such charisma and a great sense of humour, which is why she’s perfect as the Doctor!
What can you tell us about what happens in this episode?
It’s a massive test for the Doctor, but she knows she has the best people by her side to face this challenge. It’s all about bravery and teamwork and people from different backgrounds coming together to fight something that’s threatening their lives. It feels like quite an epic, monumental way to end the series for various reasons, which I think will be quite obvious when people see it…
Any teasers about your character, Lin?
Not without ruining everything! All I can say is that she’s resilient, brave and she has a love interest, who’s played by [Indian Summers star] Nikesh Patel.
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As TV Times Highlights Editor I get to hear about all the latest TV shows coming soon. Here at TVT HQ we are in the privileged position of selecting the best programmes from across all the channels and streaming platforms. Our mission is to make it easier for our readers to decide what to watch - and give them lots of choice of genres - all the latest shows, plus some nostalgic choices we call hidden gems, too. My career began with a postgraduate degree in periodical journalism (ahem, yes old school!) in 1991 and I’ve worked in TV media since 2000.