It's just over two weeks ago since the Doctor and Donna (David Tennant and Catherine Tate) turned up to save us all once again, but they’re not done yet. The Giggle – episode 3 of the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials – airs tonight on BBC One in the UK and Disney Plus around the world: 6.30pm UK / 1.30pm ET / 10.30am PT / 5.30am AEDT
UK: iPlayer (free with licence fee)
US/AUS: Disney Plus
How to use a VPN to watch any stream
This time our favorite Time Lord encounters the Toymaker (played by Neil Patrick Harris), a formidable foe the Doctor has not faced in a televised adventure since the first Doctor (William Hartnell) encountered him 57 years ago.
Indeed, Hartnell and the original Toymaker (Michael Gough) appear in a powerful flashback - a hat tip from showrunner Russell T Davies as he, once again, revitalizes the franchise for yet another generation.
Following on from the bug-eyed, liquifying horror of last week's Wild Blue Yonder (episode 2), the Toymaker, an unsettling but smiling lunatic responsible for the anarchy and chaos on Earth, demands an immediate and effective response.
And as if that wasn’t enough, we also get to bid farewell to Tennant and Tate for the last time (probably) and welcome the new Doctor - Ncuti Gatwa.
So brace yourselves. It all happens tonight and all the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials are available for FREE in the UK on the BBC iPlayer streaming service. But don't worry if you're on holiday because you can watch The Giggle from anywhere with a VPN.
Keep reading for all the information you'll need to stream online, including the Doctor Who episode 3 release schedule and watching when overseas.
How to watch Doctor Who in the UK for free
How to watch Doctor Who in the US and Australia
For the first time, new episodes of Doctor Who will exclusively land on Disney Plus for Whovians outside the UK.
Disney Plus prices start at $7.99 / £13.99 per month, with the value getting better if you sign up for an annual plan.
If you're in the US, you also have the option of paying a little more and getting the Disney Plus bundle. For $9.99 a month, it adds Hulu to the package (with higher-price plans throwing in ESPN Plus and ad-free streaming too).
The trilogy of new Doctor Who episodes will be available to watch on Disney Plus on the same day and time as they go out on the BBC in the UK (1.30pm ET / 10.30am PT / 5.30am AEDT (on the Sunday in Australia), with episodes one and two available right now.
How to watch Doctor Who from anywhere with a VPN
You can watch Doctor Who on any of the streaming services above no matter where you are in the world, and all with one clever little tool. And it's not a sonic screwdriver!
Normally a streaming service will know where you are trying to tune in from and block you if you're not in the right country but a Virtual Private Network (VPN) is an app that hides your location. That means you can access your usual sports and entertainment services even while you're traveling abroad.
The best VPN deal around right now is ExpressVPN, which is rated as a top VPN according to our sister site, TechRadar. There's a helpful guide on the best VPN services on TechRadar if you'd like to know more.
How to use a VPN to watch any stream
- Download the app at NordVPN.
- Choose the location of the streaming service you want to watch (UK, US, etc)
- Navigate to the streaming service and start watching!
What is the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials release date?
The trilogy of Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials are set to go out on three consecutive Saturdays, and started on November 25. Episode 3 – The Giggle - is available tonight, 9 December.
Episodes will be broadcast on BBC One and land on iPlayer in the UK and Disney Plus globally at 6.30pm UK / 1.30pm ET / 10.30am PT / 5.30am AEDT.
- Episode 1: The Star Beast – Available now
- Episode 2: Wild Blue Yonder – Available now
- Episode 3: The Giggle – Tonight
All you need to know about Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials
Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials, episode two trailer
When is the next full series of Doctor Who?
Following the 60th anniversary episodes and upcoming 2023 Christmas special, the full adventures of the 15th Doctor will begin in 2024.
The season 14 air date is yet to be revealed, but is expected in the spring.
Who is the 15th Doctor?
31-year-old Rwandan-Scottish actor Ncuti Gatwa will enter the TARDIS for the first time as the 15th Doctor during the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials.
Gatwa is best known for his role as Eric Effiong in the Netflix series Sex Education. he also appeared as one of the Kens in 2023's Barbie movie.
He will be the first black actor to portray the Doctor, as well as the first openly gay person to do so.
Gatwa's companion will be Millie Gibson, playing Ruby Sunday. Gibson is best known for award-winning turn as Kelly Neelan in British soap Coronation Street.
Where can I watch other Doctor Who epsiodes?
The whole Doctor Who catalog (barring a few rogue episodes) was put on to the BBC iPlayer in the UK in November 2023.
Around the world, Doctor Who episodes are generally available for purchase or rental on platforms such as Amazon Prime Video and iTunes. And all of the 2005 onwards episodes are available on Max in the US and Foxtel, Binge and Stan in Australia.
For more information, visit our dedicated guide on how to watch Doctor Who online.
Was there a Doctor Who 50th anniversary special?
To celebrate 50 years of the Doctor, the BBC broadcast a special episode one-off episode called The Day of the Doctor on November 23, 2013.
As well as the current Doctor at the time Matt Smith, it also saw appearances of David Tennant and the then next-Doctor Peter Capaldi.
You can watch The Day of the Doctor on BBC iPlayer in the UK and HBO's Max platform in the US.
What geography lesson did the ninth Doctor give his sidekick?
Rose (Billie Piper) asked Christopher Eccleston, "If you are an alien how come you sound like you're from the North?" And he responded...
"Lots of planets have a North."
Is Tom Baker still alive?
Now 89, Tom Baker – the scarf-wearing, recording-breaking fourth Doctor – lives in Sussex on a farm with his third wife Sue Jerrard, a former assistant editor on Doctor Who who he met at the BBC. As the much-loved and even venerated fourth incarnation of the Doctor, Baker holds many records associated with the role other than that of being the oldest living actor to have played the role, including:
His span as the Doctor from 1974 to 1981 is the longest so far.
In that time, he recorded a record number of episodes (172).
'City of Death’, broadcast in 1979 and starring Baker, has the highest viewing figures of any Doctor Who story ever (16.1m people watched part IV).
He remains the tallest Doctor, at 6ft 3in.
And, with his long scarf and Poet Fedora hat, he is still the most iconic.
