The Fifteenth Doctor, played by Ncuti Gatwa, has settled in nicely as the latest Time Lord. The Sex Education star took over the role from David Tennant this time last year. This year, for his second Doctor Who Christmas Special, the actor embarks on a new phase as he leaves behind his old companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson). In the time in between, he saves humanity once more, with a little help from Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlan. The story of this Christmas special titled Joy to the World moves around to different eras, past, present, and future. All of this becomes important to the narrative, which hinges upon the holiday of Christmas and a Villengard briefcase with a seed star, which is a ticking bomb in itself. A young woman named Joy (Coughlan) checks into a Sandringham hotel, and she ends up being key to the Doctor’s latest mission to save the world during the holidays. But how do they manage to save humanity from destruction? By using every loophole when it comes to time. Doctor Who Christmas Special: Writing and Direction Former showrunner and Sherlock writer Steven Moffat pens this new Christmas special. The opportunity allows us to see a slightly different side of Gatwa’s Doctor as he goes gung-ho on a mission that seems doomed to fail. The holiday episode also grows sentimental, as Joy has an emotional outburst, explaining how she lost her mother during the COVID crisis in 2020.