Update: There are now reports Bradley Walsh and Tosin Cole will be leaving in the Holiday Special.
Doctor Who will return in a holiday special, “Revolution of the Daleks,” but what can viewers expect - and when will the episode air? The Doctor Who season 12 finale radically rewrote the show’s history, revealing the Doctor is the Timeless Child. Originating from an unknown realm, the Timeless Child possesses unlimited powers of regeneration, and the entirety of Time Lord civilization was built upon her genetic code.
It all ended on a cliffhanger, with the Doctor arrested by the Judoon and whisked out of the TARDIS, transported to a dedicated prison facility. She is a Judoon “cold case,” dating back to when the Judoon worked on behalf of the Time Lords. That fits with “Fugitive of the Judoon,” which revealed a possible past incarnation of the Doctor hiding out on Earth, hunted by the Judoon and their Time Lord masters. Assuming “Ruth” really was a past Doctor, the Judoon have been seeking the errant time traveler for millennia.
The Doctor Who season 12 cliffhanger ending will lead directly into a holiday special, “Revolution of the Daleks.” Showrunner Chris Chibnall is avoiding making any specific comments about this episode, but it’s certainly been set up to be a memorable one.
Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks Release Date Is Likely Christmas 2020
The BBC is officially calling “Revolution of the Daleks” the 2020 Doctor Who holiday special, and they’re avoiding committing to an exact release date. However, a Christmastime release date seems plausible. Speaking to the Radio Times, showrunner Chris Chibnall indicated the scheduling hasn’t been decided yet. “I don’t know when they’re going to put it on yet, otherwise we’d tell you,” he observed. “But rest assured, the Doctor and her friends will be back for a one-off extended Special around Christmas and New Year.” The Doctor Who Christmas special was a tradition under both Davies and Moffat, and hopefully the BBC will decide this is the better slot.
Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks Story Picks Up After The Timeless Child
“Revolution of the Daleks” will pick up from the dramatic close of “The Timeless Children,” with the Doctor sentenced to whole of life imprisonment in a maximum security facility run by the Judoon. It’s unclear whether it will continue straight on from the Doctor’s arrest, or whether there’ll have been a - potentially substantial - time jump, with the Doctor already having served part of her sentence.
Revolution of the Daleks Could Be About Prison… Or A Dalek Return
“Revolution of the Daleks” will presumably open with an account of the Doctor’s time in prison, and it may see her learn more of her forgotten history; after all, she appears to have been sentenced for crimes predating the William Hartnell incarnation. The title confirms the holiday special will then transform into a Dalek story. This may perhaps suggest the Doctor is imprisoned with Daleks, who lead a “revolution” in the prison. Alternatively, she may escape in short order and find herself confronting the Daleks once again. If the latter is the case, it will be interesting to see whether the Daleks themselves are experiencing a revolution of some kind.
It’s Unclear If Jodie Whittaker’s Companions Will Return For Revolution of the Daleks
The latest reports suggest two of the Doctor’s companions - Bradley Walsh’s Graham and Tosin Cole’s Ryan - will be leaving in the Holiday Special. It will be interesting to see how they are reunited with the Doctor; the Doctor Who season 12 finale saw the Doctor’s companions transported back to Earth in another TARDIS, and they believe the Doctor died, sacrificing herself to save the universe from the Master and his army of Time Lord Cybermen. They have no idea the Doctor is still alive, and it’s unlikely they’d be able to figure out how to track her down even if they did realize she was a prisoner of the Judoon.
More: Doctor Who Teases That Graham Is Really The Doctor
