Stop Everything – Doctor Who releases a taste of Nicola Coughlan in its Christmas special

What would Christmas be without Doctor Who?

Even though it's only July, we're already counting down the days until December with the 2024 Doctor Who Christmas special, “Joy to the World.”

The excitement has now increased even further because the San Diego Comic-Con audience was shown an exclusive clip of Nicola Coughlan in the role of Joy during a panel that included current Doctor Ncuti Gatwa.

Nicola herself introduced the clip and confirmed that the title of the episode refers to her character, who is “a determined woman whose life changes forever when she meets the Doctor.”

A classic Doctor Who story.

In the clip, we get to know Joy in a nice way, who seems to be constantly impressed by the world around her, when she suddenly encounters a large green alien.

In a behind-the-scenes YouTube video, Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies previously said of Joy to the World: “Now the Doctor travels on, and guess what keeps happening to the Doctor – Christmas! Christmas is coming.”

“I can't give much more away, but work has already started on it and it's crazy, it's one of the craziest Christmas specials you'll ever see. It's epic, it goes to so many different places. And it's a great story about who the Doctor is when he's alone.”

As if that wasn't enough, Steven Moffat, who returned to the show to write this episode, told Ireland AM: “Nicola is wonderful in this, she will break your heart.”

The festive TV special is always popular with fans and the 2023 edition is one of the most watched TV shows on Christmas Day alongside Strictly Come Dancing and The King's Speech.

Doctor Who is now available on iPlayer and Joy to the World will air on Christmas Day 2024.