Rose Ayling-Ellis lands Doctor Who role in ‘terrifying’ new episode

Rose Ayling-Ellis has landed a role in Doctor Who, showrunner Russell T Davies confirmed at a press event celebrating the BBC series' upcoming Christmas special.

Davies teased what is to come alongside The Doctor star Ncuti Gatwa and Steven Moffat, who wrote the festive episode Joy to the World. While the trio were keen to share their thoughts about the special as well, they were also more than willing to reveal some secrets of the show's upcoming season.

"We finished an episode last week," Davies said. "We finished it on Friday and I took it to play to my sister, and she was sat there just literally on the edge of her seat. We've got a story with Rose Ailing-Ellis in the lead, she's leading one episode which is stunning.

"I think it's our scariest episode, it's absolutely terrifying, she's magnificent and you just see Ncuti with her, and the other guest cast in that are phenomenal.

"There's great episodes to come, there's a range of episodes, mad ones, scary ones, completely mad ones. Good stuff to come, and more Anita Dobson."

The 2024 Christmas special sees Gatwa work alongside another exciting new co-star, Nicola Coughlan, who plays the titular Joy. Spending Christmas in a hotel alone, Joy is suddenly thrust into the middle of a sci-fi adventure when the locked door in her room opens into the Time Hotel, and the Doctor crashes in to help her in her plight.

Gatwa and Coughlan are working together for the first time in the production, despite both appearing in 2023 hit Barbie. The actor said of his co-star: "We were Barbie and Ken but we never worked together on that. I'd always been a huge fan of Nicola's work, and she worked with Alex [Pillai, the episode's director] quite a lot on Bridgeton so there was that connection.

"But, oh, what a talent, what a joy, it's hard to not go into that pun when talking about Nicola because she's just so full of light and I just so up for everything."

Moffat returns to the show for a second time after leaving the role of showrunner at the end of Peter Capaldi's era as The Doctor and writing episode Boom for Gatwa's first series. But he couldn't resist returning for a Christmas special, despite believing that he was done with the franchise.

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"I was at my son's 21st birthday, we were away. Sue [Vertue, his wife] had just been saying to me, 'you're not doing that again are you?' I said, 'no that's probably it really,'" Moffat reflected.

"Many, many years ago, when I was first offered Doctor Who, she said 'you can do it once' and I said, 'but it's a two-parter' and that equivocation has continued for many years. I'd just been saying 'no, that's probably it, darling' and an e-mail from Russell came through saying 'do you want to do Christmas?' I said 'Oh yeah'. Because I love doing Christmas, I love doing the Christmas episodes."

Moffat went on to share why Doctor Who suits the festive period so much, adding: "It's Doctor Who but more so, Doctor Who's a christmas-y kind of show. I mean, and The Doctor is alarmingly close to Santa Claus. I think Matt Smith once put it: he basically is Father Christmas but without the presents, not fat and an alien.

"It's Doctor Who, but more so, it's got all the spice, all the danger, all the fun. Doctor Who Christmas stories have to also be, as Mark Gattis will tell you, sad and scary as well, but they have to be fun and exciting, the whole range.

"Doctor Who's a highly emotional show and, frankly, I don't know why people bother watching other stuff on Christmas Day."

The Doctor Who Christmas special Joy to the World premieres on Christmas Day at 5.10pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.