Doctor Who: Will the Daleks ring in the New Year?

Could the Daleks be making a grand return to Doctor Who in the upcoming New Year’s Day Special? EXPLAIN! EXPLAIN! EXPLAIN!

When he took over as showrunner, Chris Chibnall made a point of featuring new villains only in Doctor Who‘s eleventh season. By all accounts, that decision worked out quite well.

Of course, buzz over the long-running series being headlined by a female Doctor for the first time and Jodie Whittaker’s outstanding performance played a major role in the series’ ratings boost this year. But the season was also carried by strong storylines, for the most part, and its focus on new adversaries.

The season is now over, though. So are classic villains back on the table? Since the release of the teaser for the New Year’s Day Special, “Resolution,” fans have been speculating that The Thirteenth Doctor will face off against the Daleks. Here’s what we know.

In the teaser, The Doctor refers to the opponent that she, Yaz, Ryan, and Graham are facing as “the most dangerous creature in the universe,” which could certainly be said of a Dalek. Furthermore, the teaser shows that the creature’s primary method of attack is blowing things up, which is also true of the Daleks. Perhaps most tellingly, the teaser cuts off just before The Doctor says the name of the creature.

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Unfortunately, there are two possible explanations for that, though. On the one hand, if it is a Dalek, it makes sense that Chibnall would want to save the surprise for New Year’s. On the other hand, withholding the creature’s name could simply be a ploy to attract viewers who are hoping to see a classic villain.

The bottom line is that we’ll have to wait for the special to know for sure. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, star Mandip Gill neither confirmed nor denied the fan theory.

"“Well, like you say, they’re just rumors, aren’t they? We’ve managed to get this far keeping everything a secret. Now, how would we let that slip?”"

Gill has a point there, but she did manage to tease a bit of what we can expect from the special.

"“It’s quite dark and scary and eerie. It’s an explosive one. It’s really fun, and it ties up a lot of loose ends. It’s really exciting.”"

What we can say definitively is that the special won’t be the last time we see our favorite time-traveling “fam.” Whittaker, Gill, Tosin Cole, and Bradley Walsh will all be returning for Doctor Who‘s twelfth season, which is set to air in 2020.

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As for the Daleks, we can’t think of a better villain to help Doctor Who ring in its inaugural New Year’s Day Special! The last time a Dalek appeared on the series was in the 2017 Christmas Special, so it’s high time for a reunion.

Would you like to see the Daleks in the New Year’s Special? Will you be tuning in? Let us know in the comments section below.

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