It’s time to get your seasonal sci-fi bobble hats on as the BBC fired out yet another wintery gem in the Doctor Who Last Christmas special episode, which wrapped both Santa Clause and Nick Frost (Cuban Fury, The World’s End) up in a festive bow for the culmination of Peter Capaldi’s first series at the helm of the TARDIS. For anyone not up on their Simon Pegg bromance knowledge, Nick Frost is a long way from being Jack’s younger, cooler and slightly better wind-chill protected brother, but he does make for a pretty convincing Santa Clause, having made his first appearance at the end of Death In Heaven, the last episode of Series 8.
While Nick Frost’s part in the Christmas special was pretty big news all by itself, it was sort of overshadowed by the rumours that were doing the rounds pre-Christmas that Jenna Coleman’s tenure as the Doctor’s time travelling companion, Clara Oswald, was about to come to an end. The good news, though, is that the rumours didn’t turn out to be true, so there wasn’t yet another big cast change to get used to or fan favourite to replace, leaving Last Christmas to its own merits when it aired on Christmas day.
As if all of that wasn’t enough information to take, the Beeb had also confirmed that Michael Toughton was to star in the Christmas special, following in the footsteps of his father, Patrick, who was of course the second actor to star as the Doctor back in the second half of the 1960s. Michael has made a comeback to acting to take part in the special and for old-school Doctor Who fans it’ll be an exciting prospect to see the son of the 2nd Doctor playing a part in the contemporary storyline.
The guest star cast was also added to by Natalie Gumede of Coronation Street and Strictly Come Dancing fame, Faye Marsay (Fresh Meat, The Bletchley Circle) and Nathan McMullan (Misfits). They started filming back in September 2014 and you can check out the cast chairs below to see how seriously they take their guest stars on the Doctor Who set.
The episode takes place at a remote arctic base, where the Doctor and company get trapped, having followed Santa Clause back to the pole to investigate an attack from terrifying creatures. With no way out and hope slowly fading the Doctor will need to find a little bit of Christmas cheer in his Sonic Screwdriver if he’s going to save the world for the umpteenth time.
The Last Christmas Doctor Who special has been written by the show’s lead writer, Steven Moffat, which makes 7 shows he’s penned or co-written for Peter Capaldi’s stint as The Doctor. The special episode was directed by Paul Wilmshurst, who also directed both Episode 7 Kill The Moon and Episode 8 Mummy On The Orient Express earlier in Doctor Who Series 8.
Commenting on the casting of Nick Frost as Santa Clause in the Christmas special, Steven Moffat said, “Frost at Christmas – it just makes sense! I worked with Nick on the Tintin movie many years ago and it’s a real pleasure to lure him back to television for a ride on the TARDIS.”
The 57 minute episode will be released on released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United Kingdom on the 26th January 2015 and in the United States on the 17th February 2015 for anyone that hasn’t had a chance to see it yet.
