Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary specials are nearly over! Only one more to go before David Tennant departs the TARDIS again, and Ncuti Gatwa takes his place. This is the big one. The Toymaker (Neil Patrick Harris) makes his triumphant return to Doctor Who 57 years after his first appearance. It concludes this Saturday, December 9th, on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 18:30 GMT and on Disney+ globally. In this preview for the final special, Doctor Who: “The Giggle”, we’ll take you through everything we know, from The Toymaker returning, to Kate Stewart and UNIT, and the Doctor regenerating.
Titled “The Giggle“, this episode will bring the Fourteenth Doctor (David Tennant) and Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) face-to-face with The Toymaker in a fight for their lives. Returning showrunner Russell T Davies writes the episode, and Chanya Button directs it.
The Toymaker returns…after 57 years
If we haven’t mentioned it already…he’s back! The evil Toymaker returns to torment the Doctor and the human race once more. This time, Neil Patrick Harris plays the role. However, Michael Gough was the first to play him when the villain debuted in 1966.
In this next special, he’s set to wreak havoc across the human race with a mysterious puppet that drives everyone mad. Including playing games with The Doctor and Donna and infiltrating UNIT. He also seems to have multiple outfit changes across the episode. Could we be seeing different versions of The Toymaker? We don’t know much more about what he has up his sleeve, but it will surely be menacing.
Kate Stewart & UNIT join the Doctor to fight The Toymaker
Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) is back in Doctor Who! Well, it’s not been too long since we last saw her after appearing in Jodie Whittaker’s final episode last year. She’s now back at the Doctor’s side fighting what could be the biggest battle yet. Being one of the Doctor’s most loyal friends, she’s been a regular now for 11 years. Making her first appearance in 2012’s ‘The Power of Three’…she’s also set to appear in Fifteen’s first series next year as well!
These mysterious petals seem to play quite a part in The Toymaker’s torment. Will they have any significance? There have also been rumours of a musical number, could this be it?
The human race goes insane!
As seen at the end of ‘Wild Blue Yonder’, the human race has started to go mad and fight each other. It’s said that a puppet’s giggle (as the episode title suggests), gets into everyone’s head and makes them do insane things. What exactly happens is still under wraps. Although The Toymaker looks like he’s enjoying every second of this…
The Doctor regenerates…or do they?
The Fourteenth Doctor has now become quite a fan favourite incarnation. Unfortunately, this weekend David Tennant bows out (again) as the Doctor and Ncuti Gatwa takes his place. There have been rumours of a split regeneration where the Fourteenth doesn’t directly regenerate into the Fifteenth, and there ends up being two separate doctors. Obviously we have no idea if this will happen, but it’s definitely a possibility.
What we do know is that Ncuti Gatwa will finally make his debut as the Doctor in the final special. We’ll get to see the very beginnings of his Doctor’s personality and what is to come. Something that could debunk the split regeneration rumours is the Fifteenth Doctor in this outfit. It looks very similar to Fourteen’s clothes. Although, Fourteen’s regeneration shot background is the same as Fifteen’s first ‘what the hell is going on here?’ scene from the first trailer. Are they purposefully hiding something? Not long before we find out…
Is this the end for Donna?
Russell T Davies has been teasing a tragic end for Donna for a while now. It’s all been very cryptic. However fans have noticed a theme in the first two specials. Donna’s death has apparently been alluded to in both ‘The Star Beast’ and ‘Wild Blue Yonder’. Firstly, when we thought Donna died after having her memories unlocked. Then when the Doctor chose the ‘not-thing’ Donna and the real Donna was left on the exploding spaceship. Could this all be preparing us for a certain eventuality? Let’s just say that if it is, many, many tissues will be needed, and I think we’ll all need a while to recover.
Introducing the cast…
The Fourteenth Doctor – David Tennant
Donna Noble – Catherine Tate
Kate Stewart – Jemma Redgrave
Shirley Anne Bingham – Ruth Madeley
The Fifteenth Doctor – Ncuti Gatwa
Charles Banerjee – Charlie de Melo
The Toymaker – Neil Patrick Harris
John Logie Baird – John Mackay
Trailers & Previews
Doctor Who returned on November 25th 2023, with “The Star Beast“, the first in three special episodes as the show’s 60th Anniversary headliner event. David Tennant returns as the 14th Doctor alongside Catherine Tate as Donna Noble. Ncuti Gatwa’s first episode as the Fifteenth Doctor will air over the festive period, while his series 14 will debut in 2024 with Millie Gibson. Disney+ will be the exclusive home for new Doctor Who seasons outside the UK and Ireland.
More From Nerdgazm
🚨 – Doctor Who: Once and Future – Two’s Company – Review
🔥 – NEW Doctor Who: Unleashed Series Announced!
👀 – Doctor Who “Tales of The Tardis” Officially Revealed!
You can also Follow Nerdgazm on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and now Threads!
