Who's that girl?

Nicola Coughlan teams up with the Doctor to battle an old enemy and a deadly dinosaur

- HANNAH DAVIES, JUDY EWENS, SEAN MARLAND

NEW SCI-FI

Doctor Who

Christmas Day, 5.10pm, BBC1

Bridgerton's Nicola Coughlan encounters treachery, time travel and a terrifying T-rex in Doctor Who's thrilling festive special, Joy to the World, written by Steven Moffat.

The Derry Girls star plays Joy, who checks into a London hotel for what she imagines will be a quiet Christmas. But it turns out to be just the opposite when she discovers a secret doorway to a Time Hotel' and she comes face to face with the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa).

'Joy is someone who comes across as very shy and retiring when you first meet her. She's somebody who never wants to cause a fuss, says Coughlan, 37. "Then you realise that she's hiding a lot of pain and has a lot of struggle in her life, but isn't really facing it. However, the Doctor doesn't let her rest on her laurels.