“Doctor Who” casts Sherlock and Casualty stars for Christmas special

The San Diego Comic-Con audience was treated to a great preview of the new special, which featured the Doctor delivering the show at various times and locations: a ham and cheese toastie and a pumpkin latte.

There were also some new faces; the actors in question have now been confirmed for the new issue of Doctor Who Magazine.

In the Christmas special, Dark actor Peter Benedict Basil and Casualty star Julia Watson play Hilda (the couple at the Queens Hotel in Manchester during World War II).

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We then see actress Niamh Marie Smith as Sylvia with a copy of Agatha Christie's novel Murder on the Orient Express, before we see actors Phil Baxter as Edmund Hillary and Samuel Sherpa-Moore as Tenzing Norgay.

Steph de Whalley plays Anita, who shows Joy her room at the Sandringham Hotel in 2024, while a Silurian named Melnak, played by Sherlock regular Jonathan Aris, wanders into her room despite the locked door.

Coughlan has described her character Joy as “a determined woman whose life changes forever when she meets the Doctor.”

Moffat, who returns after the season 14 episode “Boom,” also hinted that we might see some heartbreak during the Christmas special too – so get ready!

He previously said of his return for the festive adventure: “It was just fun and it was nice to have my old job back for just one episode and then be able to lie down.” Russell [T Davies] have to keep working hard, constantly.”

Davies himself also gave a taste of what fans can expect from the special.

“I can't give much more away, but work has already started on it, and it's crazy, it's one of the craziest Christmas specials you'll ever see,” he said during a behind-the-scenes video on YouTube for Empire of Death. “It's epic, it goes to so many different places. And it's a great story about who the Doctor is when he's alone.”

The latest issue of Doctor Who magazine is now out.

Doctor Who returns to BBC iPlayer and BBC One this Christmas.

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