For the first time in its 60-year history, Doctor Who is releasing an official Christmas single.
The Goblin Song, written by the show’s composer, Murray Gold, with lyrics by Russell T Davies, is raising money for Children in Need.
The music video features a clip from the forthcoming Doctor Who Christmas special, in which Ncuti Gatwa will make his full-length debut as the Doctor, alongside Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday, who joins as a regular Tardis companion.
During the video, the Doctor and Ruby are seen crawling through a pirate ship while goblins sing about eating a baby. Gold described the song as “fiendishly catchy”, adding: “I don’t like these goblins – and you won’t either.”
Davies, the creator of Queer As Folk and It’s a Sin, said: “We’re releasing this as an early Christmas present for everyone. And if you want to see how the Doctor and Ruby escape from the goblin king at the end of the song, you’ll have to watch on Christmas Day.”
The show surprised viewers at the weekend when, in a break with tradition, during the 60th anniversary special, The Giggle, the Doctor was split into two incarnations. That left David Tennant’s 14th Doctor to retire to a life of peace and co-exist with Gatwa’s 15th Time Lord, who flew off for new adventures.
This is not the Doctor’s first musical adventure. In the 1960s, the Go-Go’s attempted to cash in on Dalekmania with a festive single called I’m Gonna Spend My Christmas With a Dalek, and in 1972, the third actor to take the role, Jon Pertwee, released a version of the show’s theme tune – with lyrics – titled Who Is the Doctor.
The Doctor Who Christmas special, The Church on Ruby Road, will be aired at 5.55pm on BBC One on Christmas Day in the UK, and available at the same time worldwide on Disney+.
