20 years ago, The Christmas Invasion changed Doctor Who forever

For the first time since 2005, Doctor Who won’t have a Christmas or New Year’s special this year. This comes straight after Russell T Davies’ latest season of the long-running science-fiction drama closed the TARDIS doors on Ncuti Gatwa’s emotionally liberating 15th Doctor and his companion, Belinda Chandra (portrayed to perfection by Varada Sethu). However, the series didn’t end without first revealing the next face of the Doctor’s regeneration cycle: Billie Piper, who previously played Rose Tyler back when Doctor Who returned in 2005.

Ironically, Piper was also involved in New Who’s (aka, the revival era) very first Christmas episode, “The Christmas Invasion.” It was an episode that would go down in Doctor Who history, both for its introduction of David Tennant as the 10th Doctor and for kicking off a well-loved British tradition: a Doctor Who Christmas special.

A known fact, but one that bears repeating all the same: the British public loves Christmas specials. Christmas and New Year is our biggest holiday and broadcasters, like the BBC and ITV, are keen to ensure that we spend the majority of it sitting on our sofas and watching the best Christmas-related TV possible. You have your soaps Christmas specials, such as EastEnders and Coronation Street, as well as British dramas like Call the Midwife and Death in Paradise.

Written by Russell T Davies and directed by James Hawes, “The Christmas Invasion” debuted on Christmas Day 2005, and followed the 10th Doctor (Tennant) and Rose Tyler (Piper) as they fend off an alien invasion.

While opinions of whether it’s the best Doctor Who Christmas special vary — if you ask me, that title goes to “A Christmas Carol” — “Christmas Invasion” has everything that makes a Doctor Who great:

• Wacky concepts like a radio-controlled killer Christmas tree and murderous Santa robots
• The Doctor’s endearing intelligence and alien mannerisms
• And of course, plenty of emotional dilemmas that keep you on the edge of your seat

However, “The Christmas Invasion” was also a huge risk. It came straight after the regeneration of the 9th Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) into the 10th. So not only did Davies and Hawes have to deliver a cohesive and fun episode that would appeal to the British public, they also had to do so while getting returning fans to accept Tennant. This may seem hard to believe, considering Tennant’s current popularity, but the revival of Doctor Who in 2005 had brought in so many new fans, and Eccleston and Piper’s chemistry was one of the defining factors for the new series success. The bar was high, and if Tennant couldn’t clear it, there would be trouble.

Image: BBC

Thankfully, those worries were unfounded. Tennant’s performance was electric from the very beginning, mixing Eccleston’s commanding presence with his replacement’s cheeky looks and wit. It also helped that Davies brought in returning faces, such as Penelope Wilton as Harriet Jones, Noel Clarke as Mickey Smith, and Camille Coduri as Jackie Tyler. With their return came an assurance of continuity, something Doctor Who sorely needed on the heels of a major revival.

However, if I have to choose one defining factor that made “The Christmas Invasion” such a monumental success, it’s Piper as Rose. While Tennant’s Doctor spends the majority of the episode sleeping in bed, Piper is the one who carries the weight of the Christmas-time alien invasion on her shoulders. She’s fundamental in helping drive off Earth’s attackers, and does so while also bringing chemistry with all of her fellow co-stars that pulls at your heart. It’s no wonder that, 20 years later, Davies has fallen on her once more (for better or for worse) to lead Doctor Who somewhere else. Whether he’ll succeed or not remains to be seen.

“The Christmas Invasion” was also a major hit, with 9.84 million views. It was so popular it ensured Doctor Who would be on our screens at Christmas for years to come, right up until 2018, where showrunner Chris Chibnall moved that year’s holiday special “Resolution” from Christmas to New Year’s. What’s more, these holiday episodes have always proven popular, though none have managed to reach the epic highs of 2007’s “Voyage of the Damned,” which had over 13 million eyes on it over the Christmas period. These episode solidified Christmas-time as the Doctor Who season — making it an even bigger loss we won’t see the Time Lord return for festive fun in 2025.

Image: BBC

Last year’s Doctor Who Christmas special, “Joy to the World,” didn’t fare as well as 2023’s “The Church on Ruby Road,” which pulled in an eye-watering 7.4 million views in the space of a week. (It likely didn’t help that it was going up against several returning IP that hadn’t been on the TV in years, such as Gavin and Story, Outnumbered, and Wallace and Gromit.) With no Christmas special planned for this year (but one marked down for 2026), the closest Doctor Who fans has is Disney-commissioned spin-off, The War Between Land and Sea, and that ended on Dec. 21.

A disappointing time for Doctor Who fans it may be, but there’s always a silver lining: there’s at least a hefty backlog of Doctor Who Christmas and New Year’s specials to get through to help tide you over until next year.

Doctor Who’s New Who seasons are available to buy via Amazon or Apple. You can watch the latest two seasons and some specials on Disney Plus.