Doctor Who Christmas Special: The Church on Ruby Road review – the charismatic Ncuti Gatwa knocks it out of the park

Warning: this review is also a recap, meaning it contains spoilers for the episode

He’s only just taken charge of the Tardis, but 15th Doctor Ncuti Gatwa is already creating waves across space, time and fashion. There was that trouser-free regeneration opposite David Tennant in the last of the 60th anniversary episodes. Then, the BBC marked the countdown to the Doctor’s Christmas special by releasing the first pop single in the franchise’s history with “The Goblin Song”. Tom Baker must be retrospectively fuming that nobody in the 1970s suggested he duet with David Bowie. “All the Young Daleks” has a ring to it, no?

It’s been quite a build-up to Gatwa’s Crimbo arrival, then. The actor playing the Time Lord with two hearts would be only human if he was feeling the pressure. If that is the case, Gatwa keeps all signs of stress concealed under the kilt he’s wearing for his big entrance. Amid the hype and hyperbole, Gatwa makes playing the Doctor look effortless.

The Sex Education actor more than lives up to expectations with a commanding and compelling turn in the fun, occasionally dark, “The Church on Ruby Road”. Doctor Who specials can be hit or miss, invariably landing between charming and cheesy. But this one strikes the seasonal bullseye, as well as setting up the further adventures of the 15th Doctor and assistant Ruby Sunday (an immediately likeable Millie Gibson).

First things first: as the latest custodian of the biggest brand in British science fiction, a charismatic Gatwa knocks it out of the park. A great deal has been made of the fact that his first appearance in his standalone debut is in a heaving nightclub, hands in the air and wearing a vest, that kilt and a huge grin.

But while returning showrunner Russell T Davies is clearly trying to push the series in new directions, it’s equally apparent that Gatwa deeply understands what makes the Doctor tick. There is never a moment you don’t believe he’s the same character who has riveted audiences across the past 60 years.

A singing Doctor? It’s happening. Gatwa has already proved he could retain his dignity in trying circumstances when dashing around without any trousers on opposite David Tennant

In keeping with the Christmas theme, the plot is fluffier than a McFlurry in a snowstorm – involving flying (and singing) goblins and a baby who goes missing from her crib. The latter is a shameless wink towards Bowie’s Labyrinth, which was similarly packed with little green meanies bursting into song. However, “Ruby Road” is also full of thrills, frights and comedy – plus a Davina McCall cameo sure to have all the Americans watching on Disney+ scratching their heads.

The Doctor is nothing without his companion, and Gibson’s Ruby provides the ideal foil. And how fantastic to see the Doctor slimming down to just one sidekick after the mini-squad assembled for Jodie Whittaker by the trying-too-hard Chris Chibnall. Ruby, comes with a backstory almost as mysterious as that of the Time Lord. The action opens with a shadowy figure depositing her as a baby outside a church at Christmas. Twenty years later, she is none the wiser as to her origins. Nor is the almighty Davina, whose attempt to track down Ruby’s birth parents for a Long Last Family-style reality blub-fest proves unsuccessful.

New generation: Gibson and Ncuti Gatwa in the Doctor Who Christmas special (Lara Cornell/BBC Studios/Bad Wolf)

That’s the least of their woes. Goblins are on the trail of both Ruby and Davina. They turn Ruby’s life into an infinite obstacle course, tripping her up and ripping her shopping bag. McCall has it even worse – she’s seemingly crushed to death by a toppled Christmas tree.

That sequence is largely included for giggles yet it has a hint of the sinister: these goblins didn’t come to play. They’ve come for dinner and, in short order, snatch the baby that Ruby and her adoptive mother (Michelle Greenridge) have taken into foster care in their flat in London (where a twinkling Anita Dobson plays their neighbour). One minute the infant is in her crib; the next, the goblins have swiped her – much as Bowie’s minions did to Jennifer Connolly’s brother in Labyrinth.

Gatwa’s doctor is full of charm, but there’s a darker side

Quicker than you can say, “You remind me of the babe”, Ruby is dangling by a rope ladder from the flying goblin galleon in an attempt to recover the kidnapped tot. And, oh, look, here’s the Doctor again – having already introduced himself to Ruby in that nightclub scene. Now, they’re united to save the baby and stop the goblins. The fun cranks up a gear as the Doctor and Ruby infiltrate the ship. There, they proceed to dazzle the mischievous monsters, and their Jabba the Hutt-lookalike king, with a freestyle song and dance routine.

A singing Doctor? It’s happening. Gatwa has already proved he could retain his dignity in trying circumstances when dashing around without any trousers on opposite David Tennant. He’s equally at ease going all X Factor on the goblins. But this Doctor can be nasty as well as nice and the episode’s jolly tone turns momentarily grim when he uses whiz-bang magic gloves to drag the goblins to their doom and impale their boss on a church steeple.

This all happens in the time-scrambling denouement. The goblins have rewound the clock and erased Ruby from existence by snatching her from that cradle by the church door. Enter the Doctor, who interrupts their scheme and condemns their king to a spiky fate (for good measure, he then whisks over to save Davina from that killer tree).

“The Church on Ruby Road” is a perfect seasonal treat: it’s frothy, ever so slightly sinister and clips by like a reindeer running across a snow-packed roof. Most importantly of all, however, it confirms Gatwa’s 15th Doctor as encompassing light and shade. He’s full of charm, but there’s a darker side, and when he returns for his proper full series, what fun it will be seeing Gatwa and Davies explore all aspects of the eternal Time Lord.