Nicola Coughlan is starring in one of the biggest slots in the Christmas TV calendar: the Doctor Who Christmas special. Don't miss out on her entrance into the Whouniverse, which is made all the more compelling seeing as she has admitted to not being massively familiar with Doctor Who prior to filming.
“Then I watched the first two episodes ever made with my brother, who first introduced me to sci-fi through Star Wars, which was our big thing," she told The Big Issue. "It gave me a sense that this was proper TV history. So what a privilege to be part of it, and to be part of people’s Christmases.”
You can also now apply for season 4!
The Derry Girls and Bridgerton star is set to play a character called Joy, who will accompany Ncuti Gatwa as the fifteenth Doctor on his latest adventure.
When Nicola's casting was first announced, she said: “I’m excited to join the Whoniverse under the leadership of the inimitable Russell T Davies. I’ve been a fan of Ncuti Gatwa for some time and getting to share the screen with him as the Doctor has been an absolute joy.”
We don't know a lot about her character yet, only her name and that she meets the Doctor during a time travel-related drama that starts for her in a hotel room. Intriguing.
In a Christmas 2024 preview video from the BBC, she said in an audio message: "I am thrilled to be joining Doctor Who for the Christmas special this year, and I am so excited for you to meet my character, Joy."
In the video, we also see Ncuti's Doctor appear in random points through Earth's history – offering a ham and cheese toastie and pumpkin spice latte to confused strangers. Eventually, he meets Nicola Coughlan's Joy in a London hotel in 2024.
In a Children in Need preview, we saw the duo encounter a briefcase that the Doctor identifies as having been made by Villengard, an arms manufacturer. Not long after, they are attacked by a dinosaur – so it looks like some serious time travel will be happening on this Christmas special.
The writer of the Christmas episode Stephen Moffat has shone a light on what to expect from the special, plotwise. He said in an interview: "Imagine in the far, far future that a hotel chain got hold of the idea of time travel. What's the first thing a hotel chain would do if they had time travel?
"They'd realise they had an opportunity to sell all the unsold nights in their own hotels in history."
We can't wait to see where the Christmas special takes such a dynamic duo.
Of Nicola's time on the show, showrunner Russell T Davies added: “This has been the most brilliant shoot, with Nicola lighting up the set and bringing joy. From Derry, via Bridgerton, to the TARDIS, it’s the trip of a lifetime.”
There's nothing our girl can't do.
