Christmas Special

The Christmas Special has been a yearly tradition of Doctor Who since 2005's The Christmas Invasion. Every 25th December since the series was revived by BBC Wales, a special has aired on BBC One. Though they are sometimes thought of as "light" or "frivolous" episodes of the programme, in fact, the vast majority have introduced either a new companion or new incarnation of the Doctor. Most, therefore, are vital to series continuity. They are often the most-watched episodes of the programme in the year where they air. Some have truly astronomic ratings. The Next Doctor, Voyage of the Damned and The End of Time are amongst the best-rated episodes of all time.

Though largely a phenomenon of BBC Wales Doctor Who, there were two minor precedents in the original era of the programme.

The very first episode to premiere on Christmas Day was "The Feast of Steven", very nominally the seventh part of the 1966 serial The Daleks' Master Plan. It had almost nothing to do with the plot of that 12-parter, and was consciously written as a "Christmas sidestep" from the Dalek adventure. Indeed, it ended with a fourth wall-breaking "Happy Christmas" at the end of the episode.

Another example was A Girl's Best Friend, the pilot for K9 and Company Though technically, therefore, not a "Doctor Who Christmas Special", it is now generally regarded as a part of "classic series lore". Its Christmas theme was not especially obvious until its ending scenes, where Sarah Jane is able to relax following her adventure, and K9 actually sings "We Wish You a Merry Christmas".

List of Doctor Who Christmas specials

 * 2005 - The Christmas Invasion (series 2)
 * 2006 - The Runaway Bride (series 3)
 * 2007 - Voyage of the Damned (series 4)
 * 2008 - The Next Doctor (series 4)
 * 2009 - The End of Time: Part One (series 4)
 * 2010 - A Christmas Carol (series 6)
 * 2011 - The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe (series 7)
 * 2012 - The Snowmen (series 7)
 * 2013 - The Time of the Doctor (series 8)