First Look At Doctor Who Holiday Special Sees The Time Lord In Jail

Previously on Doctor Who, the Thirteenth Doctor had just escaped the (latest) destruction of Gallifrey when she was abducted from her TARDIS by rhino-headed space police the Judoon and locked in prison. And when the Time Lord returns this festive season in special “Revolution of the Daleks,” she’ll still be stuck behind bars while her friends have to deal with an invading Dalek on their own.

Today, the BBC made use of New York Comic-Con and debuted two new promo images, which offer an early look at the aforementioned special. The first still showcases Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor, dressed in red prison overalls and trapped in her cell. The tally marks on the wall tell us that she’s been incarcerated for a very long time, too, which is unusual for the typically Houdini-like Doctor. The second one, meanwhile, sees her friends Ryan (Tosin Cole), Yaz (Mandip Gill) and Graham (Bradley Walsh) looking lost without her.

It’s yet to be officially confirmed, but it’s believed that this special will write out both Ryan and Graham, leaving Gill’s Yaz as the Doctor’s only companion going into season 13. This will be a big change for the show as the family dynamic of the current TARDIS team has been at the core of the past two runs. As for how they’ll be written out, well, typically the Doctor’s friends manage to survive intact, but who knows, maybe one of the pair will fall foul of the Dalek?

The holiday special was filmed along with season 12, which wrapped up well before the pandemic broke out. It’s believed that season 13 could take a while in getting here, though, due to the industry problems going on right now. So, make sure to savor “Revolution of the Daleks” when Doctor Who returns to our screens sometime this festive season. Going by recent years, it’ll likely arrive on New Year’s Day, but that’s yet to be confirmed.