Nineteen years ago, TV magic happened: Steven Moffat wrote his first Doctor Who story for showrunner Russell T Davies — a two-part episode called “The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances.” The episode, a World War II adventure which saw the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) and companion Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) find themselves caught in the London Blitz while being pursued by a strange, scarred child, was met with immediate acclaim, kicking off a creative partnership that would span almost two decades. Moffat would continue to write more critically acclaimed episodes under Davies’ reign as showrunner, before taking on the stewardship of Doctor Who himself, starting with the Matt Smith-led Season 5.
After Moffat departed the show, it would seem like both of them had closed out that chapter in their careers. But, unexpectedly, Davies would return in 2023 to shepherd the 60th anniversary specials and several seasons beyond. So, naturally, he brought back Moffat for one last episode. Er, maybe one more episode.
“The greatest joy for me in the world is receiving a new Steven Moffat script,” Davies tells Inverse. Would he ever let Moffat stop writing those scripts? “Not while I have power, not while I have breath in my bones,” he says wryly.
Moffat wrote “Boom,” a “Season 1” episode for Ncuti Gatwa’s 15th Doctor, last year, but made no plans to continue writing for the show. When Davies called him up to write the 2024 Christmas special, Moffat had already decided he wouldn’t do any more Doctor Who. But he signed on to pen this year’s special, with the thought that it may be his last — though even he’s not sure if that’s the case.
“I’ve sort of resigned to the fact that I won’t know what my last one is, probably,” Moffat tells Inverse.
Inverse spoke with Moffat and Davies together over Zoom, in a meandering conversation about this year’s Christmas special, “Joy to the World”; why Christmas perfectly matches Doctor Who; and what’s the secret to a great multi-Doctor special.
Steven, this is your ninth Christmas special. In the past you said that you were worried that you had mined every idea you could out of Christmas. So where did the idea for this year’s Christmas special come from?
Steven Moffat: The end of the mine. No, what I actually meant was...
Russell T Davies: The next mine, the next one.
Moffat: In the next mine, I just opened the new ahead. No, what I really meant was I thought maybe we’d done as much as I could think of at the time with actual straightforward Christmas imagery. Because to some degree you are thinking like Russell did back in the day, killer Christmas trees. What if Santa turns up at the North Pole? What else is there left? There’s no more things to do with Christmas. I mean because the big question really is: What’s a great episode for Christmas Day? What fits into that day and the mood of that day and the family sitting round? And what also addresses the, certainly in Britain, some members of the audience who only watch the Christmas ones? So you’re thinking of it that way. Where did the idea for this one came? Well, it’s just that out of the blue on my son’s 21st birthday, Russell emailed me and said, “Do you want to do the Christmas episode?”
“You know you’ve got an idea that’s good enough for 45 minutes of Doctor Who if you’ve got a movie idea.”
And I think mentioned earlier that day to [wife and producer] Sue [Vertue], “No, that’s it. I’m definitely done with Doctor Who. Oh, no, I cannot do Christmas because I love Christmas, and I love Christmas Doctor Who.” So I was actually just genuinely very excited, then it took me a while. Then we were batting ideas back and forth and Russell reminded me that I’d always promised at some point on Doctor Who I’d do some sort of door-flapping French farce, a time-travel farce, and that started me. This isn’t quite a French farce, I wouldn’t say, and I still think that’s a possibility, but there’s a ghost of the idea there. There’s that scene in the hotel room with people coming in and out of doors and two Doctors and big bombs going off on timers, like you always have in a farce. All that stuff was there.
Davies: Because what you get, Steven, is a fool because he throws away huge movie franchises every time he does a Doctor Who story.
Moffat: So do you.
Davies: There’s River Song — could be bigger than James Bond every day, and now there’s the Time Hotel that could run for 20 years as a television show.
Moffat: You know you’ve got an idea that's good enough for 45 minutes of Doctor Who if you’ve got a movie idea. If you just pissed away a franchise, yeah, I might give you 45 minutes.
Davies: Eat them up. Eat them up.
Russell, when you started the tradition of Doctor Who Christmas specials way back in 2006, did you think it would become such a staple of the season?
Davies: I could never have. In fact, I associate Doctor Who with Christmas so much, in the very first season I did before Christmas specials existed, I commissioned a Mark Gatiss episode called “The Unquiet Dead,” which was at Christmas. It got transmitted in May or something, but it was in snow, and it’s fun, and that’s the very first Christmas special. Then they commissioned Christmas specials, and I sat there and go “My God, we’ve just done one. We’ve done the ultimate one, Dickens and snow.” But I love it. I think I properly love it. There’s just something about Doctor Who that fits Christmas so superbly — the joy of it, the colors, the fun, the madness. Christmas stories are always seeped in tragedy as well. There’s always a sadness. There’s always a darkness and a strangeness, usually a happy ending, which fits Doctor Who so well. It’s just very right and good and fits, and it’s amazing. Who would have thought that all these years later? I mean, next year will be the 20th year of them. Wow, that’s mad.
“I will almost certainly not know when I’ve written my last one, so maybe this was it.”
Steven, you’ve talked about how this could be your last episode for Doctor Who. Can you confirm or deny?
Moffat: It could be. I’ve sort of resigned to the fact that I won’t know what my last one is, probably. I just now always say that because having definitively left several years ago and then ended up because of this man here tumbling back through the door, much to my wife’s delight, that I just have to note the moment every time. Because it’s been a massive part of my life, more than a job really. I just have to commemorate it and say, “Well, maybe that was the last one.” I will almost certainly not know when I’ve written my last one, so maybe this was it. I don’t know.
Davies: It’s like a definition of death. I’ll never know when my last one is.
Moffat: I know, I’m sorry. I veered off from Christmas somehow. I keep drifting into mortality in this almost.
I mean, you’ve just mentioned just now that you still have so many ideas about that you could use for Doctor Who, so it sounds like there’s always a bank.
Moffat: I think if I was asked to write a Doctor Who story, I would be always able to think of one. I think I know how that’s done. I could claim that at this late stage without too many people being cross with me. I think I know how you do a Doctor Who. And part of the reason that’s possible is because Doctor Who is really hard, in the sense that it works you hard. It’s a hardworking show. There’s sweat on your writer brow when you write this one. Nothing is easy, nothing. You’ve got two main characters and one set you’re not allowed to use for more than 30 seconds, and you’re off. They walk into a room; what kind of room is it? Are we on Earth? Who’s in the room? Are they human? What kind of foreheads do they have? I mean, it just is endless. It’s endless.
Well, Russell, I guess the bigger question is will you let this be Steven’s last episode?
Davies: No, not while I have power, not while I have breath in my bones. No, the greatest joy for me in the world is receiving a new Steven Moffat script. What a gift that is. There’s a great moment in my life. It’s a joy and a privilege, so fingers crossed.
“Christmas stories are always seeped in tragedy as well.”
Steven, the last episode that you wrote, “Boom,” featured the evil corporation Villengard as the antagonist, and they return again in “Joy to the World.” They were mentioned in your very first story, “The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances.” Do you intend to explore those antagonists in a greater capacity than the brief mentions that we’ve gotten?
Moffat: The way most things happen in Doctor Who is they creep up and you think “Oh, we better do that now.” I’m starting to think that maybe we have to go to Villengard at some point. We have to go and see what it’s like. It’s not like it’s a plan. This is a weird thing to say, but you never know what you’re planning until you write it. You think, “Oh, I’ve been planning that for years. Look, I’ve been laying the groundwork for that for years.” So maybe, maybe. I think kids would be excited if you suddenly thought, “My God, we’re on Villengard.” Yeah, that would be thrilling. There’s more guns here than anywhere else. I’m the only one who hasn’t got one.
This is a great episode, a great showcase for Ncuti, and he does get to play opposite himself for one scene. There’s two Ncutis in this episode, but you both have written multi-Doctor stories. Can I ask you what makes a great multi-Doctor story and when do we see another one, again?
Davies: What makes a great multi-story? The great multi-story Doctors are made by the actors, really. You’re talking great performers probably who love meeting each other. That’s the nice thing ... also they’ve all had this incredible life where they have had very similar experiences and are known around the world and are known by children. They all have very similar stories, and all very different stories as well, so they love meeting each other. There’s a very great energy in that. And it’s like meeting yourself, isn’t it? Of course you’d argue; of course you’d think you’re an idiot. Of course, you would. Imagine meeting your younger...
Moffat: A younger version of yourself whom you resent and an older version of you who’s going to replace you. I mean, imagine meeting yourself 10 years ago; it would not be a happy encounter. It just wouldn’t, but also I think magic sometimes happens. I mean, Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee in the old “Three Doctors” show, they really were a terrific double act. That was just a gift to the show. They just worked together sublimely well. They could have just run the show together; it’d [have] been fantastic. And it happened again I think with David [Tennant] and Matt [Smith]. They just instantly [connected], in a very different way because it was written more combative. And because they didn’t really know each other up until that point, they sort of fell in love and they adored each other. So that came out the screen that they were just so happy to be playing the parts together and having such a hoot.
Davies: And I think it’ll always keep happening because it’s one of Doctor Who’s USPs [aka unique selling propositions], isn’t it? You can’t do it on other shows.
Moffat: The James Bonds don’t team up because they don't exist together. I know, but the Doctors can. The Doctors can all get together in a Doctors squad, yeah.
