The title for Doctor Who’s upcoming festive special has been revealed, and it’s very appropriate given the episode’s New Year’s Day timeslot: Resolution.


The episode’s title was revealed in official TV listings and confirmed by the BBC, after the Radio Times Christmas double issue went on sale with full schedules covering the Christmas and New Year period.

After some doubt about whether the one-hour special would actually feature much to do with the New Year, it seems that Jodie Whittaker’s Time Lord WILL at least pledge to cut down on her bad habits come 2019.

Definitely no more vortex manipulator travel, it’s very bad for you.

In all seriousness, though, it seems more likely that Resolution has something of a double meaning here. It could be that Resolution is the name of something (perhaps a company or piece of technology) in the episode itself.

Alternatively, the title could refer to a trait needed to face terrible threats – we’d say the Tardis Team are pretty resolute, right? – or a simple desire for the Doctor to fix the factory settings on someone’s TV screen. Look, stranger things have happened in Doctor Who.

But perhaps the most likely explanation for the New Year’s Day title is that the episode is intended to cap the series as a whole; to resolve storylines established in series 11 and mark the true end of the first chapter of the Thirteenth Doctor’s adventures.

Maybe we’ll find out what the Timeless Child really is? Or discover the secret behind the Stenza? Or maybe Ryan’s (Tosin Cole) dad will finally turn up after being mentioned in multiple episodes?

Either way, it seems to us that this may be the real sign-off for the first year of Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor Who tenure, the resolution of 11 journeys through space and time.

That, or it’s all about Graham vowing to cut back on the cheese and pickle sandwiches. As we said, Doctor Who can keep you guessing.

The Doctor Who New Year’s Day special airs on Tuesday 1 January 2019 at 7pm


This article was originally published on 6 December 2018