Davina McCall in Doctor Who Christmas special: presenter returns in The Church on Ruby Road after 18 years

The Doctor Who Christmas special 2023, The Church on Ruby Road, is less than a week away, and it’s promising to be an exciting episode. The newly bi-regenerated Doctor, played now by Ncuti Gatwa, will meet his new companion Ruby Sunday and take on a host of goblins on a mysterious spaceship flying over London.

The Church on Ruby Road will also see the continuation of Bonnie Langford’s return as Mel Bush following on from the final 60th anniversary special, and the introduction of drag queen Jinkx Monsoon as the new villain.

However, many fans are excited for the return of a well-known star who had a brief cameo role in the first season of New Who 18 years ago, as Davina McCall returns to the show.

When was Davina McCall last in Doctor Who?

McCall appeared in the first season of the rebooted Doctor Who during Christopher Ecclestone’s tenure at the Ninth Doctor. She had a cameo voice appearance as Davinadroid in the episode Bad Wolf.

The Davinadroid was a robotic voice that controlled the Big Brother house on the Game Station where various popular TV shows from the 21st century were played with a futuristic twist, such as robots. 

The Davinadroid invited the Ninth Doctor to the Diary Room and told him he was live on Channel 44000. At the time McCall was the real life presenter of Big Brother, which then aired on Channel 4 and ran for five seasons. The show aired on Channel 4 until 2010 when it moved to Channel 5, at which time McCall stepped down as the show’s presenter.

Who does Davina McCall play in the Doctor Who Christmas special?

McCall returns to Doctor Who 18 years and six Doctor’s later in The Church on Ruby Road, which airs on Christmas Day, but she is not reprising her role as the Davinadroid.

Instead, McCall will play herself in human form, as she joins the cast for another one off appearance. Her exact role in the special is unknown, but first-look images show Davina sitting across from the Doctor’s new companion Ruby Sunday, at a table in a bar.