Doctor Who 2017 Christmas Special: Start time, preparing for Jodie Whittaker’s arrival

Are you excited for the Doctor Who 2017 Christmas Special to be here? It’s an enormous episode not just because it’s the holidays — it is going to change the entire series as we know it.

Before we get into that, let’s hammer out some of the details for those curious, starting of course with the start time. For viewers who are planning to check out the Doctor Who 2017 Christmas Special, it is going to start playing on the BBC beginning on Christmas Day at 5:30 p.m. London time. Given that this is a show for the whole family, and there are so many other shows airing across the night in general, Doctor Who always tends to air in the late afternoon / early evening. Have a Christmas dinner and then kick back and enjoy an imaginative, moving tale of Twelve (Peter Capaldi) saying farewell while we get the chance to see for the first time Thirteen, played by Broadchurch alum Jodie Whittaker. She will make her debut in the closing minutes of the special, unless of course departing showrunner Steven Moffat and new showrunner Chris Chibnall do something that results in them playing around with the format.

Speaking on the subject of the character to the Mirror, Whittaker makes it clear that one of the challenges of being on Doctor Who is that every actor has their own experience with the character:

“There is no advice you can give because no person plays this part the same … I have spoken to a few [past Doctors]. The overwhelming sense is, ‘This is such an exciting journey you are about to go on, and it is to be enjoyed’.”

When to watch the Doctor Who 2017 Christmas Special in America

Unlike some other Christmas Specials, you really are not going to be forced to wait all that long in order to see it. BBC America is broadcasting the special Christmas Day at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time. Why so late? It’s just what makes sense for American viewers. The Christmas Special always has a tendency to air much later in America than in the UK, and that ultimately makes the most sense. You have to remember that for most American viewers, watching TV on Christmas isn’t a tradition in the way it is in Britain.

If you haven’t seen any footage for the Special yet, you can do so below! Also, be sure to visit this link for some more news as per what to expect.

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