It’s recently been announced (in a very confusing way) that the next season of Doctor Who will begin on Apr 12, 2025. For some fans, this is a little surprising. While it’s a perfectly acceptable date – less than a year since the previous season finished, at least – it’s still a couple of weeks after Mar 26. Considering New Who made its debut on that date back in 2005 with “Rose”, it honestly seems surprising that the new season wouldn’t begin at least close to that date to celebrate such a major anniversary.
But this does ask the question: is the show likely to celebrate 20 years of New Who? For many, it seems like the kind of anniversary that you should celebrate. After all, any TV series lasting for 20 years is impressive, even with significant gaps between seasons.
Also, let’s be honest: New Who isn’t just a successful version of Doctor Who. For many fans, it is Doctor Who. Yes, it often acknowledges the vast history of the Classic Series. But speaking as a big fan of that era, I know that Classic Who isn’t for everyone. The distinctly lower budget, slower pace and even style of acting can be potentially off-putting for many who adore the New Series. Don’t get me wrong, I love when a fan of the New Series discovers a classic story and enjoys it. But I also understand why some fans can’t enjoy 20th century Who at all.
So it’s only natural that many New Series fans would want to see a 20th anniversary celebration of the New Series. But how likely is that to happen?
An overshadowed anniversary
If we think back to 2015, there was nothing in Peter Capaldi’s second year as the Twelfth Doctor that really felt like it was celebrating the beginning of New Who. There was no multi-Doctor story featuring just the New Series Doctors. No cameos from earlier companions. There wasn’t even an appearance by the Autons in a nod to “Rose”.
The lack of celebration might’ve been disappointing to some New Who fans. But at the same time, it’s easy to see why this choice was made. After all, the show had just celebrated its 50th anniversary just two years before. And honestly, as much as I love “The Day of the Doctor”, it was a special heavily influenced by New Series mythology anyway. It would’ve been hard for any special to match it so soon.
We’re in a similar situation in 2025. The 60th anniversary was just two years ago, and those specials were more heavily focused on the New Series than the 50th. In this case, we only had one previous Doctor show up. Except we didn’t, as Tennant was brought back to play the Fourteenth Doctor rather than replay the Tenth.
Noticeable absence
Admittedly, the likelihood of a multi-Doctor story being made in secret is very low. But if Russell T Davies did want to celebrate the 20th anniversary of New Who with such an event, we know one Doctor already that definitely isn’t showing up. Christopher Eccleston has made it extremely clear that he will not be returning to Doctor Who while Davies is in charge.
Eccleston’s absence had been noticeable enough in “The Day of the Doctor”. But because of the exciting creation of the War Doctor, and the fact that the special was meant to celebrate the whole of Doctor Who, not just the New Series, the story still worked despite his noticeable absence.
The same would not be true if you celebrated the New Series with a multi-Doctor story, however. As much as I love Tennant, Smith, Capaldi, and Whittaker, bringing them back wouldn’t be as important as bringing back Eccleston. Knowing that it’s simply not going to happen does make the idea of a multi-Doctor story celebrating New Who almost feel pointless.
Cameos
Having said that, there is one clear way that the show could at least acknowledge 20 years of the New Series: cameos. The first and easiest that springs to mind is David Tennant. While I don’t want to see him overused in Gatwa’s era, the fact that the 60th anniversary specials established that the Fourteenth Doctor is still out there enjoying a nice, quiet life in London means he can be brought back easily, at least story wise.
But who else could make a cameo appearance? Who would feel significant enough to the beginnings of New Who? The only example I can think of is Billie Piper as Rose Tyler. While an appearance in a full-length episode would be extremely difficult to explain, considering the former companion is in a parallel universe, a quick glimpse of her life would be more than welcome.
Lastly, a clear way that I can see the show celebrating 20 years of New Who – albeit in a very small way – is a new trailer released to celebrate the era. This doesn’t sound like much, but “The Adventure of a Lifetime” trailer narrated by Paul McGann was a beautiful way of celebrating the 60th anniversary.
It’s looking likely that the upcoming season won’t celebrate New Who’s big anniversary, at least not directly. But the New Series could be celebrated in other ways. For example, we already know that Big Finish is releasing a new season of adventures for the Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler set during Series 1. That’s a perfect way of acknowledging 20 years of New Who. Not only that, but we know that the fandom in general – or New Who fandom, at least – will find its own ways to celebrate.