David Tennant Returns! Everything to Know About the ‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Specials

Credit: BBC(2)

David Tennant Returns! Everything to Know About the ‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Specials

The Doctor is in! Make that Doctors since the Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials seem to be jam-packed with new and familiar faces — including former star David Tennant. The long-running BBC America show ended Jodie Whittaker's tenure as the time-traveling hero (a role she took over from Peter Capaldi in 2018) in October 2022. She and showrunner Chris Chibnall left Doctor Who together, making way for a new cast and a returning showrunner in season 14. Sex Education actor Ncuti Gatwa has been announced as the next incarnation of the Doctor — but before Gatwa’s arrival, Tennant is back as the Doctor. He’ll lead three anniversary specials alongside several returning stars, including Catherine Tate as Donna Noble. Scroll down to learn more about the three Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials:

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When Will the 'Doctor Who' 60th Anniversary Specials Air?

The 60th anniversary special is set for November and will include three episodes. However, Gatwa's first official episode as the Doctor is set to air over the “festive season,” per the BBC. Doctor Who typically has a holiday special, airing on either Christmas Day or New Year’s Day. Disney+ will broadcast the series in the U.S. for the first time.

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What Did the 1st Trailer Reveal?

The teaser trailer, which debuted after Whittaker's last episode in 2022, shows Tennant in action, running down hallways with his signature trench coat flapping behind him and crawling through the new TARDIS with Tate's Donna Noble. "I don't know who I am anymore," he says.

Harris' villain looks disturbingly cheerful while Gatwa makes his first appearance asking, "Will someone tell me what the hell is going on here?!"

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How Did David Tennant Return?

Is the 10th Doctor also the 14th Doctor? The October 23, 2022, episode ended with Whittaker's Doctor regenerating. However, a bigger burst of energy than years past turned her back into Tennant's Doctor. "I know those teeth," the Time Lord says, clearly confused about how this happened.

The transformation also affected her clothes. While most regenerations take a minute to find their new style, this incarnation came with a new suit that seems similar to Ten's style. The episode ended with credits that read "introducing David Tennant as The Doctor."

Of course, Whovians were introduced to Tennant nearly two decades ago. Tennant was flying the TARDIS (the Doctor’s time-traveling spaceship) from 2005 to 2010. He returned in 2013 for the 50th anniversary special, titled “The Day of the Doctor,” and he’ll return again to celebrate the iconic British show’s 60th birthday. This time, the Scottish actor will reunite with Tate, who played companion Donna Noble in the fourth season, for the three-episode arc.

“If you thought the appearance of David Tennant was a shock, we’ve got plenty more surprises on the way!" Davies said in an October press release. "The path to Ncuti’s Fifteenth Doctor is laden with mystery, horror, robots, puppets, danger and fun! And how is it connected to the return of the wonderful Donna Noble? How, what, why? We’re giving you a year to speculate, and then all hell lets loose!”

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Who Is the Not-So-New Showrunner?

Davies hasn't written for Doctor Who since 2010, but the writer (who created fan-favorite characters like Rose Tyler and Jack Harkness) returns in 2023. "Russell T. Davies is almost as iconic as the Doctor himself and being able to work with him is a dream come true," Gatwa said in May 2022. "His writing is dynamic, exciting, incredibly intelligent and fizzing with danger. An actor’s metaphorical playground."

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Wait, Yasmin Finney Is Playing Rose Tyler?!

Billie Piper played Rose Tyler from 2005 to 2010, but Yasmin Finney will play a new version of the companion in 2023.

"This show has a place in so many people’s hearts, so to be seen as a trans actress by the legend himself Russell, has not only made my year, it’s made my life," the Heartstopper actress said in a statement in May 2022. "I cannot wait to begin this journey and for you all to see how Rose blossoms. Get Ready.”

The new Rose is the daughter of Donna Noble and Shaun Temple (Karl Collins). "So the question is, what happens when Rose meets one of her mum’s oldest friends? It is a mystery for now, but what we do know is that just like her mother, Rose stumbles across something alien - and from that point her seemingly ordinary family is never quite the same," the official Doctor Who social media accounts teased in August 2023.

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Who Is Neil Patrick Harris Playing?

The How I Met Your Mother alum was announced in June 2022 as a guest star in the 60th anniversary special, , and it was later revealed that Harris is playing the villainous Toymaker, who hasn't been seen since 1966.

"There's something so bad the TARDIS ran away?" Donna asks in the September 2023 teaser. 

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Is Donna Noble Going to Remember Her Past With the Doctor?

Tate's character lost all memory of her adventures with the Doctor, giving Donna a tragic ending where she didn't even remember their epic friendship, let alone all the times she saved the universe. A teaser trailer for the 60th anniversary specials released on Christmas Day showed Tennant's Doctor acknowledging that Donna is often at the center of some wild events.

"I don't believe in destiny, but if destiny exists, it is heading for Donna Noble," he warned.

In a September 2023 trailer for the anniversary specials, the Doctor grimly recalls how he left Donna. "I've got this friend called Donna Noble. I had to wipe her memory to save her life. If she remembers me, she will die," he says.

Donna, for her part, knows that she has forgotten something important. "Sometimes I think there's something missing," she says. "Like I had something lovely and it's gone. I lie in bed thinking, 'What have  I lost?'"

It won't take her long to determine that she's ready to kick some alien butt. However, there could be consequences if she wants to save the world with the Doctor once more. "I don't know if I can save your life this time," the Doctor says.

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What Are the 60th Anniversary Specials Titled?

BBC released a first look at the upcoming 60th Anniversary trio of specials — titled “The Star Beast,” “Wild Blue Yonder” and “The Giggle” — in May 2023. In addition to teasing Tennant and Tate’s return to the series, the trailer showcased Finney and Harris in action as Rose and the Toymaker, respectively.

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Who Will Miriam Margolyes Play?

The actress will voice a furry little alien called Meep in the anniversary special. "I’m relieved I got to work on Doctor Who before I died,” the Harry Potter alum shared in a statement in September 2023. “With sci-fi you never know. Thank you for making an old woman very happy." 

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Who Else Is Back?

Jemma Redgrave reprises her role as U.N.I.T.'s Kate Lethbridge-Stewart in the Doctor Who specials.