The 14th Doctor To Star In Children in Need Special

Is it really a November with Russell T Davies in charge of Doctor Who and David Tennant playing The Doctor if there isn’t a Children in Need special? Of course not. For those that don’t know, the BBC runs a yearly telethon showcase for its charity featuring the broadest and least risky people (though it is the BBC, so who knows) to entertain and ask for money to help young, disadvantaged children across the UK. Since 1980, the charity has raised (self-reported) £1 billion and has been a yearly staple of crossing over entertainment powerhouses or having fun with them.

In 1993 during the wilderness years, the Time Lords of Gallifrey and some companions appeared alongside Noel Edmonds (don’t look him up) and appeared in Watford for a crossover with EastEnders for “Dimensions in Time.” This included the Pertwee, Tom Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred returning as Ace. Also, it was Kate O’Mara’s last appearance as The Rani, and more. More recently though, we got a connecting scene with “Born Again,” a simple few moments before Tennant lay around for “The Christmas Invasion.” We also can’t forget Tennant sharing a scene with his future father-in-law, though “Time Crash” was before he’d met Georgia and more importantly before he’d met Kylie.

This is different from the Comic Relief specials, such as Doctor Who: The Curse of the Fatal Death, which was written by a pre-Coupling/post-Press Gang Steven Moffat. This is most notable in that Jody wasn’t the first woman to play The Doctor. Rowan Atkinson, Richard E Grant, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Grant, and Joanna Lumley all played some form of The Doctor. while Ab Fab star Julia Sawalha played Emma (the companion) and Jonathan Pryce was the Roger Delgado-like Master. Also, no that one scene with Catherine Tate as Lauren Cooper isn’t related to Doctor Who.

Why am I explaining all of this? We’re getting a new Children in Need special ahead of the 60th specials. This year’s show is hosted by Ade Adepitan MBE, Mel Giedroyc, Jason Manford (told you it was safe people), Chris Ramsey, Lenny Rush, and Alex Scott MBE. Rush himself will be appearing in Series 14 next year. No Russell, I’m not calling it Season 1, you can jump in a bin. On the night of Friday the 17th of November, according to the press release sent out by the BBC yesterday morning, there will be a one-off special featuring Tennant as the 14th Doctor.

For the 3-hour telethon, it will feature many special sketches including for other light entertainment properties from the BBC. The Doctor Who special will also be followed up with “an exclusive episode of Doctor Who: Unleashed, which will be available on BBC iPlayer.” Unleashed is the new version of Doctor Who: Confidential, the behind-the-scenes show that was common in the first RTD run as showrunner. Of course, it should be pointed out that this is only a week before the three specials starring the 14th Doctor properly start airing. I wonder if this is a reveal of a TARDIS Interior change?