DOCTOR Who boss teases a spin off from a classic 70’s kid tv show after their cameo appearance in this year’s Christmas show.
In the festive episode, called Joy to the World, the Doctor is offering room service to a variety of people in different time zones.
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Played by Ncuti Gatwa, he enters Edmund Hilary’s base camp at Everest, then a carriage on the Orient express before meeting a lonely female called Joy, in a London hotel room.
Viewers next see him land at the Time Hotel, where each room contains a portal to another time in history.
It’s not long before he then teams up with Joy, played by Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlan to prevent the end of the universe.
Hotel guests are dressed up in period costumes for trips ranging from London Blitz tours to dinosaur safaris.
During the episode Ncuti looks around the hotel’s lobby, and realises that guests get their costumes from a shop called “Mr Benn’s Any Era Clothes.”
Older viewers will recognise Mr Benn as an animated kids TV series that premiered in 1971.
Each episode involved Mr Benn visiting his local costume shop, putting on an outfit, then time travelling through a magic door.
If Mr Benn dressed as a cowboy, he would visit the Wild West and if he dressed in a toga, he would visit Ancient Greece.
The shop’s logo in the Christmas special included a classic bowler hat like the one Mr Benn wore each time he entered the shop.
The series was voted the sixth most popular children’s television programme in the 2001 – 100 Greatest Kids’ TV shows.
It was also rated number 13 in the 50 Greatest Kids TV Shows which aired on Channel 5 in 2013.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Russell T Davies and writer Steven Moffat addressed the possibility of the Time Hotel in future Dr Who episodes.
The pair jokingly teased a spin-off series, which they explained could be a “Mr Benn for a new generation”.
“A spin-off! You could do a spin-off for that, Steven?” suggested Russell.
Steven replied: “That’s a show, isn’t it? I mean, that’s Mr Benn for a new generation.
“You could absolutely bring back the Time Hotel. I can’t imagine the Doctor being able to resist going there.”
The festive episode ended with the Doctor visiting Bethlehem in the year 0001, as Joy becomes a shining star.
Asked if he was concerned about portraying the birth of Jesus Christ, Steven replied: “It’s a Christmas Day special. I think it’s fair to acknowledge where he came from! I think that’s all right.
“And that’s a lovely story, so why not?
“I like the idea that lovely Joy led the people to the manger. I think that’s a great idea. It’s sweet and it’s lovely.
“A lot of kids will have been in their Nativity plays and they’ll think about that,” he added.
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Doctor Who airs on BBC One and BBCIplayer.