The Church On Ruby Road

"The Church on Ruby Road" is an episode of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was broadcast on BBC One on 25 December 2023 as the fourteenth Christmas special since the show's revival in 2005 and also the first since " Twice Upon a Time" (2017). It was written by Russell T Davies and directed by Mark Tonderai. It stars Ncuti Gatwa in his first regular appearance as the Fifteenth Doctor and introduces Millie Gibson as his new companion Ruby Sunday.

The story focuses on the Fifteenth Doctor meeting orphan Ruby Sunday, who was abandoned at a church on Ruby Road, hence her name, and her plight to find her birth parents. Following an interview with Davina McCall (playing a fictional version of herself), the two begin experiencing bad luck wherever they go, due to the antics of goblins, who eventually kidnap a new foster baby.

Plot

Ruby Sunday, an orphan who lives with her kind and caring adoptive mother, Carla, and adoptive grandmother, Cherry, is interviewed by Davina McCall for a television programme that traces the participants' lineage. It is revealed that Ruby was abandoned at a church on Ruby Road, hence her name, and has been trying to find her birth parents. Following the interview, Ruby, as well as Davina, begin experiencing bad luck wherever they go, with the latter seemingly killed by a falling Christmas tree. The Fifteenth Doctor arrives and starts to investigate.

Carla receives a new foster baby named Lulubelle and celebrates the occasion with a photo she hangs on her fridge, alongside her 32 other foster children. While Carla steps out, Lulubelle is kidnapped by goblins, and Ruby gives chase on the roof. She is soon joined by the Doctor, who, with the aid of a pair of intelligent gloves that can bear a much greater weight than the user, is able to get himself and Ruby on to the goblins' flying ship. The Doctor reveals the goblins are otherworldly beings who feed on coincidence and accidents, travelling through time to find babies to eat.

A musical number ensues, in which the King Goblin tries to eat Lulubelle. The pair manage to rescue Lulubelle and escape, returning to Carla's flat. A freak storm causes a giant crack to appear in the ceiling and Ruby disappears. The Doctor sees Carla change into a cold and uncaring woman who has only fostered a few children, resents Cherry, and is only concerned with money and Carla and Cherry have no recollection of Ruby. The Doctor then realises that the goblins went back in time to take Ruby when she was a baby, the Doctor pursues them in the TARDIS.

The Doctor arrives in the past and witnesses the goblins taking Ruby away. Using the gloves, he pulls the ship onto the church's steeple, impaling the King Goblin and causing the ship to disappear. The Doctor leaves Ruby on the church's doorstep to ensure the parson finds her and sees a woman, presumably Ruby's mother, walking off into the night. The Doctor returns to the present, where he finds everything returning to normal, and informs Ruby about what has transpired. He departs in the TARDIS, saving Davina from the falling Christmas tree. The Doctor decides to leave Ruby behind, concluding obliquely that he is a bearer of bad luck. Ruby, however, works out that the Doctor is a time traveller and steps into the TARDIS, joining him in his adventures.

In a mid-credits scene, after the Doctor and Ruby depart, Ruby's neighbour, Mrs Flood, breaks the fourth wall and reveals prior knowledge of TARDIS travel.

Production

Development

In November 2022, Davies was quoted in ''Doctor Who Magazine'' as having written a further special episode outside of the 60th anniversary specials. The episode's title and official airdate was announced via a Disney+ press release on 5 November 2023.

The unnamed television programme Ruby appears on was inspired by '' Long Lost Family'', which is also hosted by McCall. The ''Long Lost Family'' production team assisted in its depiction in "The Church on Ruby Road".

The scene involving the Doctor rescuing Ruby from a giant snowman, followed by him telling a policeman that his girlfriend will say "yes" to his proposal, was the last scene to be added. Disney tested the episode and asked Russell T Davies to add an extra scene in the beginning so that the Doctor could be introduced sooner. Davies felt positive about the decision adding, "who doesn’t want to see Ncuti?"

Casting

On 8 May 2022, Ncuti Gatwa was announced as Jodie Whittaker's successor as the programme's lead, and many reports, including that of the BBC itself stated he would play the Fourteenth Doctor and that Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor would regenerate into an incarnation portrayed by Gatwa. Later clarification announced that Gatwa would actually portray the Fifteenth Doctor, with the Fourteenth portrayed by David Tennant for the 2023 specials. Auditions for the next companion took place on 24 September 2022. On 18 November 2022, during Children in Need, Millie Gibson was announced as the new companion Ruby Sunday. On 30 November 2023, it was announced that Davina McCall would be cast as herself in the special, and that Michelle Greenidge, Angela Wynter, and Anita Dobson had been cast as Carla, Ruby Sunday's mother; Cherry, Ruby Sunday's grandmother; and Mrs Flood respectively.

Susan Twist appears uncredited as a heckler at Ruby's band's concert, after appearing as Mrs Merridew in " Wild Blue Yonder" (2023). Her return appearance caused fans to speculate that she would appear again in future episodes.

Filming

Mark Tonderai directed the second block of the fourteenth series, consisting of the 2023 Christmas special, having previously directed the eleventh series episodes "The Ghost Monument" and "Rosa" (both 2018).

Broadcast and reception

Broadcast

"The Church on Ruby Road" was broadcast on 25 December 2023.

Ratings

The episode received overnight ratings of 4.73 million viewers, making it the third most watched programme of Christmas Day, behind King Charles's annual Christmas speech and ''Strictly Come Dancing'', as well as the most watched drama programme of the day. The consolidated ratings figures for the episode were 7.49 million viewers, and the episode received an Appreciation Index score of 82.

Critical reception

The episode received generally positive reviews from critics, who welcomed Gatwa and Gibson to the show. On Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 26 critics gave the episode a positive review. The site's consensus reads "A welcome sugar rush of festive adventure, 'The Church of Ruby Road' sees Ncuti Gatwa's tenure as the Doctor off to a merry start."

In a positive review for ''The Guardian'', Martin Belam said of Ncuti Gatwa's performance: "Whether representing the gin-and-tonic division of health and safety, bounding across roofs, showing off his mavity gloves, or telling a policeman his fiancee would say yes, Gatwa oozed charm. But when needed, he turned on the seriousness like a tap, looked mortally wounded at time travel being taken lightly, and totally owned the episode." In a more critical review for the same newspaper, television critic Leila Latif expressed concern over the episode's over-reliance on the sonic screwdriver, but stated that " delightful new era captained by Davies and Gatwa seems certain."

Ruby Sunday was also positively received by critics. ''Empire''s Jordan King praised the character's dynamics with Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor, and commented that "there's more than enough in Gibson's performance to suggest far greater depths yet for her to explore with the character."

In a more mixed review for the ''Daily Telegraph'', Banjo Wilson felt the special to be a "muddled story that flew off in all directions" calling it overall "flailed and dithered", but praised Gatwa's and Gibson's performances.

Home media

"The Church on Ruby Road" is set to be released individually on home media on 12 February 2024.

In print

A novelisation of the episode, written by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson, was released in hardback and audiobook on 25 January 2024 as part of the ''Target'' collection.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Church on Ruby Road, The
2023 British television episodes
British Christmas television episodes
British television specials
Doctor Who Christmas specials
Fiction set in 2004
Fiction set in 2023
Fifteenth Doctor episodes
Television episodes about child abduction
Television episodes set in London
Television episodes set in the 2000s
Television episodes set in the 2020s
Television episodes written by Russell T Davies