Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor Who saves Davina McCall’s life in Christmas Day episode

Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor Who saved the life of Davina McCall in the BBC One programme’s Christmas Day episode.

The 56-year-old TV presenter played herself in the festive special, which saw Gatwa, 31, star in his first full episode as the 15th Time Lord, appearing alongside Millie Gibson as new companion Ruby Sunday.

In The Church On Ruby Road, McCall undertakes a filmed interview with Ruby, who was abandoned at a church on Christmas Eve when she was a baby, and is trying to find out who her biological parents are.

Mischievous goblins get in the way and cause havoc by messing with the equipment, leading to some lights falling on to the set.

McCall calls Ruby following the interview to tell her they have been unsuccessful in finding her parents and to let her know she has experienced a spate of “bad luck” since they met.

The TV personality is seen in a wheelchair with her arm in a sling and her leg in a cast before goblins push over a tall Christmas tree, which is adorned with a star featuring sharp points.

At the end of the episode, the Doctor travels back in time to stop the Christmas tree falling on the TV star, and in response McCall says to the Time Lord: “You saved my life.”

Also in the episode, Ruby asks the Doctor why the goblins have been picking on McCall, to which he explains that they were having some “fun”.

Starring in the episode alongside Gatwa, Gibson and McCall were It’s A Sin actress Michelle Greenidge as Ruby’s mother Carla, soap star Angela Wynter as her grandmother Cherry and former EastEnders star Lady Anita May as Mrs Flood.

Sex Education star Gatwa made his first appearance on the sci-fi show during the last instalment of the 60th anniversary episodes.

David Tennant, who originally played the 10th Doctor, returned for three special episodes as the 14th, starring alongside Catherine Tate as the Time Lord’s former companion Donna Noble.

During The Giggle it was expected that Tennant’s Doctor would regenerate into Gatwa, but instead the Time Lord bi-generated and split in two.

The upcoming series of Doctor Who starring Gatwa and Gibson will air in 2024 and a new trailer has been released that shows the duo facing a number of aliens.

They are also seen making a visit to Abbey Road Studios for a Beatles episode.

The new season will see the return of Heartstopper’s Yasmin Finney, who starred as Rose Noble in the 60th anniversary episodes, and Bonnie Langford, who has reprised her role as Mel Bush.

Drag queen Jinkx Monsoon, Game Of Thrones actress Indira Varma, Bafta TV award winner Lenny Rush and Glee actor Jonathan Groff will also star.