David Tennant returns in trailer for Doctor Who 60th Anniversary specials

The BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who has been running since 1963. How do you sustain interest over that long a time period? Big huge events. Doctor Who has had plenty over the decades, and there’s another one on the way: three special episodes will air later this year to celebrate the show’s 60th anniversary.

Showrunner Russell T Davies is doing a great job of making these episodes feel important. He’s bringing back David Tennant, who starred as the Tenth Doctor back in the 2000s, to play the Fourteenth Doctor. Catherine Tate will also return as the Doctor’s best friend and companion Donna Noble; last we saw her, the Doctor had to erase her memory. Based on the new trailer, the 60th anniversary episodes will pick up that thread:

These episodes will also feature the return of Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, the leader of UNIT, a military organization dedicated to fighting extraterrestrial threats; there are a lot of those on Doctor Who, so UNIT stays busy. There’s also Yasmin Finney as Donna’s daughter Rose, a glimpse of Ncuti Gatwa as the forthcoming Fifteenth Doctor, and Neil Patrick Harris as the Toymaker, a Doctor Who villain last seen in 1966. Harris seems to be playing him as sort of an evil version of the emcee from Cabaret…well, a more evil version.

Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials release date

BBC won’t give us an exact release date for these episodes, but we know they’re coming out in November. “This is just the start, as the fever starts to burn,” showrunner Russell T Davies said in a statement. “We’re heading for a November full of Doctor Who surprises, for fans and new viewers alike. Stay alert!”

Oh, and British national treasure Miriam Margoyles will play a little alien muppet known as the Meep. Like I said, Davies is good at staging these big events.

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