Doctor Who Fans Vote Surprising Episode as Best Ever in 60th-Anniversary Poll

Doctor Who has been a vehicle for a lot of stories over the years, with episodes delivering everything from high fantasy to horror to soap opera. Amid the show's sixtieth anniversary celebration, fans have officially crowned one episode as their favorite installment of all time — and it might not be one that you're expecting. According to the poll, which was held through Doctor Who Magazine (via Den of Geek), fans believe the Twelfth Doctor episode "Heaven Sent" is the best Doctor Who television adventure of all time.

"Heaven Sent", which made its debut in November of 2015, followed Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor being locked in a castle by the Time Lords, ultimately being stuck there for 7,000 years. In the years since its debut, the mind-bending episode has been regarded to be a definite fan favorite.

When Will Doctor Who Return?

The first new Doctor Who special, "The Star Beast", will premiere on Saturday, November 25th. This will be followed by "Wild Blue Yonder" on Saturday, December 2nd, and "The Giggle" on Saturday, December 9th. These specials will feature the franchise return of Tenth Doctor actor David Tennant, who will be rebooting as the Fourteenth Doctor.

For the first time ever, these Doctor Who specials will be available on both the BBC and Disney+, the latter of which is now co-producing the new era of the series.

Who Will Be the Next Doctor Who?

Following Tennant's specials, Sex Education and Barbie star Ncuti Gatwa is set to play the Fifteenth Doctor in the upcoming 60th anniversary season of Doctor Who.

"Oh God, what a force of nature," Tennant exclaimed in a recent interview. "I've caught a little bit of him at work and it's pretty exciting. I mean, what advice would you give someone? You can see Ncuti has so much talent and energy. He's so inspired and charismatic. The thing about something like this is: it's the peripherals, it's not the job. It's the other stuff that comes with it, that I didn't see coming. It's a show that has so much focus and enthusiasm on it. It's not like Ncuti hasn't been in a massive Netflix series [Sex Education,] but Doctor Who is on a slightly different level. It's cross-generational, international, and has so much history, that it feels like it belongs to everyone. To be at the center of the show is wonderful and humbling, but also a bit overwhelming and terrifying. It doesn't come without some difficulties, such as the immediate loss of anonymity. It takes a bit of getting used to if that's not been your life up to that point. I was very lucky that when I joined, Billie Piper [who portrayed on-screen companion, Rose] was still there. She'd lived in a glare of publicity since she was 14, so she was a great guide for how to live life under that kind of scrutiny. I owe a degree of sanity to Billie."

What do you think of the Doctor Who fandom's best episode of all time? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!