DOCTOR WHO: MEET THE CAST OF CHRISTMAS SPECIAL, SEASON TWO AND THE WAR BETWEEN SPIN-OFF

The 2024 festive special, Joy To The World, written by Steven Moffat, will air on BBC One on Christmas Day and guest stars Nicola Coughlan opposite The Fifteenth Doctor Ncuti Gatwa.

Joining the Christmas special, alongside Couglan are Joel Fry in an un-named role, Peter Benedict and Julia Watson as Basil and Hilda. Niamh Marie Smith will play Sylvia, Phil Baxter is Edmund Hillary, Samuel Sherpa-Moore is Tenzing Norgay, Steph de Whalley is Anita and Jonathan Aris played Melnak the Silurian.

Galway born actress, Couglan, has made a huge impact in film and television having starred in standout roles such as the hilarious Clare Devlin in award-winning drama comedy series Derry Girls, Penelope Featherington in the regency-era international sensation Bridgerton, and not to forget one of the Barbies in mega-blockbuster Barbie, alongside the Fifteenth Doctor Ncuti Gatwa.

Doctor Who will then return in 2025 with Season 2, which will see The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) reunite alongside new companion played by Varada Sethu. Sethu made a surprise appearence in Season 1 as part of the cast of Boom.

Varada joins the Whoniverse from a galaxy far, far away after starring in the Disney+ Star Wars series Andor. Now she straps in for another journey through time and space alongside Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor and Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday.

Jonah Hauer-King joins the cast for Season 2 in a recurring role, whose part will play a pivotal part in Ruby Sunday's story. Hauer-King is best known for The Little Mermaid, World On Fire and The Tattooist Of Auschwitz.

Also starring in Season 2 will be Charlie Condou, who has starred in shows including Coronation Street, Holby City and Unforgotten. Deadline revealed earlier this month that Emmy-award winning Archie Panjabi will play one of the villains in the next series.

The BBC and Disney+ recently announced new Doctor Who spin-off The War Between The Land And The Sea. When a fearsome and ancient species emerges from the ocean, dramatically revealing themselves to humanity, an international crisis is triggered. With the entire population at risk, UNIT step into action as the land and sea wage war.

The series, which will air on BBC One and Disney+, will star Russell Tovey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jemma Redgrave, and Alexander Devrient, Ruth Madeley and Colin McFarlane. Sex Education star George Robinson has reportedly joined the series.

Doctor Who Season 1 is available to stream now on BBC iPlayer in the UK and Disney+ worldwide where available. Doctor Who is produced by Bad Wolf with BBC Studios for the BBC and Disney Branded Television.