The BBC has released a trailer for the upcoming Doctor Who 60th anniversary special, which will feature an appearance by Neil Patrick Harris, some nostalgic looks back at the franchise as a whole, and the exciting return of David Tennant and Catherine Tate to the series. It’s a new era — but one that’s firmly looking backwards, at least at first — with Russell T. Davies back as showrunner, and Tennant and Tate returning for the event. Incoming star Ncuti Gatwa is waiting in the wings to take over as the Fifteenth Doctor, with Millie Gibson as the Doctor’s new companion, Ruby Sunday.
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Recently, the BBC released a video with Tennant and Catherine Tate, wishing fans a happy Doctor Who Day. The BBC also released a retrospective trailer looking back and the Doctor and Donna Noble’s friendship (which will be rekindled in the upcoming 60th-anniversary specials around this time next year).
You can see the trailer below.
Fans of the series, who likely never thought they would see Tennant back in an in-continuity story, have been excited to see how they explain the regeneration, and what it’s like to revisit a fan-favorite version of the character. Tennant himself talked about how much fun it was to be back on set.
“Oh, joyous,” Tennant recently told Entertainment Weekly of his return. “Just an unexpected treat to get to revisit something that had been such a lovely wonderful experience 15 years ago. To get to have another proper runaround, in an albeit slightly different long coat, was a joy I never really imagined.”
“I realized that there was third act to be written, and it was so much fun writing it,” Davies told the magazine. “On a really simple level, it’s working with two of the best actors in the world. I love them. I love them as friends. I love their presence. I’m really interested to push the Doctor and Donna into things they’ve never done before.”
Davies has said he has big plans for Doctor Who. He believes Doctor Who should be a franchise with multiple shows comparable in scale to Star Wars, Star Trek, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With the added financial backing from Disney, he may make his vision a reality. There are already reports of a UNIT spin-off starring Jemma Redgrave being in the works.
Episodes of the modern Doctor Who series are streaming on HBO Max in the United States. You can get caught up on the series with our streaming binge guide.
Future seasons of Doctor Who, beginning with the 60th-anniversary specials, will stream on Disney+. The series returns in November 2023.
