Nicola Coughlan Can't Say Anything About The Doctor Who Christmas Special (And Not For The Reason You Think)

It just isn’t Christmas without Doctor Who and we’ve been buzzing about this year’s special, ‘Joy to the World’, since it was announced that it would be starring the one and only Nicola Coughlan.

Nicola herself introduced an exclusive clip of her first time in the Whoniverse at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, confirming that the title of the episode refers to her character who is “a determined woman whose life is changed forever when she meets the Doctor.”

In the clip, we get a sweet introduction to Joy, who appears to be in constant awe at the world around her, when she’s suddenly met with a large green alien.

However, when asked about her starring role on tonight’s episode of The Graham Norton Show, it turns out that Nicola really couldn’t share much about her experience.

“I can’t tell you anything, not because of secrecy but because I had no idea what was going on,” she admitted to Graham.

Unlike many of us who spent our childhoods hiding behind the sofa every time the Daleks came on screen, Nicola confessed that she hadn’t watched Doctor Who in her youth.

“I was brought up in Ireland so didn’t see it as a child so when I got the part, I looked it up on Wikipedia – it was like reading War and Peace and it was so confusing with monsters and time travel,” she explained.

However, despite the confusion, it seems that Nicola wouldn’t hesitate to travel through time and space with Ncuti Gatwa again, telling Graham: “It was a fun experience, and I had a lovely time. If they want me back, I would do it again.”

The Graham Norton Show continues on Friday night at 10.40pm on BBC One.

Doctor Who is available on iPlayer now and Joy to the World will air on Christmas Day 2024.