Doctor Who 60th anniversary special review: David Tennant faces The Star Beast in delightfully fun episode

• 📺 Where to watch Doctor Who 60th Anniversary specials: The Star Beast premieres on Saturday 25 November on BBC One.
  

• ⭐️ Our rating: 4/5
  

• 🍿 Watch it if you liked: E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Classic Who.
  

• 🎭 Who's in it?: David Tennant, Catherine Tate, Yasmin Finney, Miriam Margolyes, Jacqueline King, Karl Collins, Ruth Madeley.
  

• ⏰ How long is it? 3 episodes.
  

• 📖 What’s it about? After regenerating with an old face, The Doctor finds himself inexplicably drawn back into Donna Noble's life and must avoid making her memories return while also investigating the arrival of The Meep and those on the alien's tale.

Doctor Who is back and it feels so good. Following Jodie Whittaker's outing from the show, fan favourites David Tennant and Catherine Tate return as The Doctor and Donna Noble to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the iconic BBC show.

Now the Fourteenth Doctor, rather than the Tenth, the Time Lord finds himself dropped right back into Donna's life after promising never to see her again because of the risk of triggering her memories to return, something that will kill her after the events of The End of Time.

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There is a bigger story at play over why The Doctor regenerated with the same face as his Tenth iteration and why he has been brought back into Donna's life, but that will be explained over the course of the specials — The Star Beast mainly acts as a re-introduction to the characters while delivering a fun family tale of aliens landing on Earth.

One such alien is The Meep, an adorable creature voiced brilliantly by Miriam Margolyes, who arrives on Earth and is being chased by two other alien groups — right through Donna's family home, in fact, after her daughter Rose (Yasmin Finney) finds and takes The Meep in.

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What follows is a delightfully charming tale that is full of nods to Tennant and Tate's original time on the series and has some great twists, which we would be remiss to reveal too much of here.

The highlight of the episode, though, is seeing Tennant and Tate back together, the pair continue to have incredibly chemistry onscreen together and they are able to switch between comedy and tragedy masterfully.

One moment they'll have hilarious back-and-forth moments, and then the next audiences will be brought to tears as they are drawn into the emotional plight The Doctor feels by being near Donna and risking her life.

There's a reason Tennant and Tate are one of the most beloved pairings of the Modern Who era, and it's clear that the actors were having a marvellous time back on set, and back in character — a joy that will resonate with viewers at home.

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Returning showrunner Russell T Davies wrote The Star Beast and he brings his trademark wit to the BBC show that is reminiscent of his first time steering the ship, but the writer is also able to make the series feel modern and relevant to important social issues.

Davies has included a moving narrative around Rose's identity as a transgender woman in the episode, for example, providing a touching blueprint of the experience of young trans people and how their families should be with them.

Some may take this storyline and declare it 'woke' but it feels right for Doctor Who — a show often enjoyed by families — to include because of how it will help bring understanding and awareness to the public without making them feel alienated.

The Star Beast does take a little while to get going as some time is spent on catching viewers up to speed on what came before, but when the story kicks into high gear it is such a joyful viewing experience.

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It truly bodes well for the remaining two episodes of the 60th anniversary celebration, and while it may seem sad that Tennant and Tate are only around for a short time it's good to have them back even for a little while, and for them to be the ones to pave the way for Ncuti Gatwa.

Doctor Who 60th anniversary special The Star Beast is out on BBC One and BBC iPlayer now, and the specials will continue with Wild Blue Yonder and The Giggle every Saturday at 6.30pm.

Watch the trailer for the Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials: