Queer Doctor Who fans obsessed with this goblin in Christmas Day episode: ‘That’s mother’
Is she mothering though? (BBC)
Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa takes over the TARDIS on Christmas Day but he’s not the only queer icon blessing our screens over the festive period – enter “mother” goblin.
The Christmas special, titled “The Church on Ruby Road”, sees Gatwa embark on his first adventure as the 15th Doctor where he stumbles upon his mysterious new companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson), .
“Little is known about Ruby Sunday as she was abandoned on Christmas Eve as a baby. Now living with her mum, Carla and grandmother, Cherry, her world is about to be turned upside when she encounters the Doctor,” the official BBC synopsis reads.
The episode – written by showrunner Russell T Davies and soundtracked by Murray Gold – will introduce mythical goblins and even feature a “showstopping” musical number involving a goblin band. The Doctor Who Christmas single is aptly titled “The Goblin Song”.
The song drops on Monday (11 December), with Gold saying: “I don’t like these goblins and you won’t either but they have agreed to donate everything from their song to BBC Children in Need so let’s not give up on them.”
The announcement came alongside the first image of the musically-inclined goblins, including the head honcho goblin in the centre of the cover art. They are sporting luscious golden locks, using a pinecorn microphone and have a sassy hand on their hip. Naturally, queer fans are gagged because who doesn’t love an singer who promises to serve?
“Even though she’s probably a villain, she’s clearly also a baddie. The LGBTQ+ community are going to adopt her I fear, the nails?! Instant icon status,” one fan wrote.
And there is a concerted campaign to get the single to Christmas number one.
Doctor Who fans can expect exciting things from the Christmas Special, according to Davies.
“Our aim was to create a big-style movie with this. And it has a song. So you can all sing along. It was always my intention to make this a big centrepiece right from day one,” he told Doctor Who magazine. “And Ncuti sings. This man can do everything.”
“It’s completely a reinvention,” Davies added to SFX magazine.
“Brand new, but not a reboot, it’s the same old show, everything starts again, everything’s seen through the eyes of Ruby Sunday and it’s that lovely feeling of here we go, a new era beginning.”
Doctor Who airs “The Church on Ruby Road” at 5:55pm on 25 December on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. It will stream globally on Disney+.
