Doctor Who’s New Year’s Day special was “confusing” to make

Doctor Who concluded its “Flux” storyline last weekend, but don’t worry, the New Year’s Day special, “Eve of the Daleks“, is right around the corner. The holiday special will feature the  famous exterminating aliens, and according to series star Mandip Gill (Yasmin Khan), will be “quite confusing.”

I’m going to assume that the “confusing” part will involve the characters being stuck in a time loop. Gill outlined her feelings in the newest issue of Doctor Who Magazine:

"We did a lot of running, and it got quite confusing at times. Being trapped in a time loop, repeating the same scenes as it gets closer and closer to midnight. But Annetta [Laufer], our director, was amazing. I kept having to ask her, ‘Which version’s this again?’, and she just knew straight away. I’m excited to see it. When you read it on paper, it’s hard to imagine what it’s going to look like. But it was good fun to film. It was great having Aisling Bea with us. She’s so funny. So funny. We had such a good time. Plus we get to fight the Daleks again!"

Doctor Who New Year’s special

The teaser for “Eve of the Daleks” features guest stars Aisling Bea and Adjani Salmon, playing the role of storage facility owner Sarah and her customer Nick.

But there is something else to take note of in the teaser: an upgraded Dalek! Just when you think that these guys can’t get crazier, Doctor Who surprises us. Showrunner Chris Chibnall called these guys “Exterminator Daleks.”

"I think it’s always good to delineate and make specific the Daleks we meet at any point. These are the bronze Daleks, which we’ve only really glimpsed in recent years. But in this episode, we have an execution squad, armed with rapid-fire, multi-blast weapons that make them even deadlier than standard Daleks. This is the ultimate New Year’s countdown–while you’re stuck somewhere, with Daleks coming for you…"

Did anyone else get chills?

The teaser clip also shows the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker), Yaz (Gill), and Dan (John Bishop) getting exterminated by the Daleks (or so it appears), which will most certainly make for a thrilling episode.

This is the third year that the Daleks are front and center in the holiday special, and we are certainly not complaining. There have been many iconic foes on Doctor Who over the years, but no villain comparable to the Daleks!

Doctor Who’s 2022 New Year’s Day special, “Eve of the Daleks,” will air on Sunday, January 1 on BBC America.

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h/t RadioTimes (Mandip Gill), RadioTimes (Chris Chibnall)