While interviewed on Half the Picture podcast, composer Murray Gold revealed that Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies has written several different versions of the the script for the 2026 Christmas special.
“I know that Russell’s written, I think, multiple versions depending on certain outcomes… So that’s all I really know and I’m not sure I’m even supposed to know that.”
What could these unnamed outcomes be? A good guess would be the version of the script ultimately used will depend on casting and availability.
At the end of the Doctor Who Season Two finale The Reality War, Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor mysteriously regenerated into an unknown character portrayed by actress Billie Piper.
However, Piper was never introduced as the Doctor, leaving open the possibility that, along with a possible role as the Sixteenth Doctor, her Doctor Who Christmas special role could possibly be the one she is best known for in the programme, Rose Tyler; or her Day of the Doctor role, The Moment; or the entity Rose Tyler briefly became after staring into the heart of the Doctor’s TARDIS, Bad Wolf; or perhaps another role all together.
The choice of script may depend on Piper’s role and the amount of time to which she is able to commit when it comes time to shoot the special.
Script decisions could also depend on who is cast as the Sixteenth Doctor and whether they are cast by the time the special commences filming.
There are no known plans for Doctor Who after the 2026 Christmas special so the version of script used could also depend on decisions regarding future series or specials — but Gold is hopeful.
“I think we’re at a precarious point for Doctor Who. I am hopeful that it’s all going to be the start of a wonderful new era. So I really hope that that’s what happens.”
As for Gold’s plans, he reiterated in the podcast that he would “never turn down Doctor Who.”
“If someone asks me and says, ‘Would you? Do you want to do it?’ Of course, I would always say, ‘Yes’. I don’t think I’d ever say, ‘No’ to Russell anyway. It’s fun, even when it’s hard!”
A 2026 Doctor Who Christmas special, produced by Bad Wolf and penned by showrunner Russell T. Davies, is expected to go into production in some time in 2026.