How to watch the 2024 Doctor Who Christmas Special: release date, streaming options, TV air date and more

Ncuti Gatwa in the 2024 Doctor Who Christmas Special
(Image credit: BBC)

It's time for fans of Doctor Who to reach for their remote, because it's Christmas Day and that means the 2024 Doctor Who Christmas Special is now available to watch.

The episode is called Joy to the World and it's about a London woman who accidentally checks into a Time Hotel. There, she meets the Doctor but also one of his old enemies, and he has to save Christmas in many places at once.

As well as current Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa, the episode will star Nicola Coughlan as one-off companion Joy and also Joel Fry, Steph de Walley and Jonathan Aris.

So if you're excited for this new festive entry, here's how to watch the 2024 Doctor Who Christmas Special.

How to watch the 2024 Doctor Who Christmas Special in the US

If you live in the US, you can watch the new Doctor Who festive special on the Disney Plus streaming service.

It'll air at exactly the same time that the Christmas Special plays in the UK: that coverts to 12:10 pm ET/9:10 am PT. So you'll be able to catch it pretty early in the morning.

You can sign up for Disney Plus for $7.99 per month, but that's for the ad-enabled tier. To go ad-free, the fee is $16.99 monthly. It may be worth checking to see if there are any Disney Plus deals if you're looking to save money.

How to watch the 2024 Doctor Who Christmas Special in the UK

You can watch the 2024 Doctor Who Christmas Special on TV or online, and both of these options will be available from 5:10 pm on Christmas Day (Wednesday, December 25).

On TV, the special will air on BBC One at 5:10 pm, just after the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special and before Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.

You can also watch the show in two ways online, using iPlayer. Firstly, this BBC streaming service lets you stream its live channels so you can watch BBC One over the internet at 5:10 pm. Secondly, Doctor Who Christmas Special will be added to its library at that time as well, so you can catch it whenever you like.

This latter option is something you can do if you're abroad for Christmas, if you have a VPN for streaming.

How to watch the 2024 Doctor Who Christmas Special in Australia

If you live in Australia, you can watch the Doctor Who Christmas Special on Disney Plus, but due to time zone differences it'll only be available to stream from Thursday, December 26.

You can sign up for Disney Plus for $13.99 per month, and a Premium plan is $17.99, though that's mainly for 4K movies and extra perks.

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Tom Bedford
Streaming and Ecommerce Editor

Tom is the streaming and ecommerce editor at What to Watch, covering streaming services in the US and UK.

As the site's streaming expert he covers new additions, hidden gems, round-ups and big news for the biggest VOD platforms like Netflix, Apple TV Plus, Disney Plus, Prime Video and Tubi. He also handles the site's articles on how to watch various movies, TV shows, sports, live events and classic box sets, and coverage on hardware like TVs, soundbars and streaming sticks.

You can commonly find him at film festivals, seeing classic movies shown on the big screen, or going to Q&As from his favorite film-makers and stars.

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