The concluding episode of the Doctor Who Anniversary Specials, The Giggle, featured the Toymaker attempting to force a regeneration. The Doctor had engaged him in a best-of-three challenge, but the Toymaker argued that each game so far had been played with a different version of the Doctor.
Still fuming that the Doctor had dared to challenge him, the Toymaker insisted on triggering a regeneration to ensure the contest continued. He then fired a galvanic beam at one of the Doctor’s hearts. However, the forced regeneration took an unexpected turn, as the Doctor did not regenerate in the usual manner.
A battle of wits across time and space (Photo: Doctor Who’s Anniversary Specials/BBC Studios Productions Bad Wolf show)Instead, he underwent what he described as a “bi-generation,” a phenomenon believed to be a mere Time Lord myth. This process resulted in two separate versions of the Doctor existing simultaneously, each capable of living an independent life.
According to Russell T. Davies, as explained in Doctor Who Unleashed, this had a far-reaching impact on all of the Doctor’s past regenerations, creating alternate timelines where each incarnation of the Doctor did not transition to the next.
This concept might have been hinted at earlier in Doctor Who’s Tales of the TARDIS spinoffs, where aged versions of classic Doctors appeared, including Sylvester McCoy’s Seventh Doctor, who mentioned its link to timelines.
There is also the possibility that bi-regeneration can only be achieved by someone possessing limitless regeneration energy, such as the Timeless Child.
How the Doctors Overcame the Toymaker
The Giggle unexpectedly transformed into a Doctor Who multi-Doctor episode, a tradition commonly associated with anniversary celebrations. The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Doctors joined forces against the Toymaker, engaging him in a game that played to their advantage—a simple round of catch.
By continuously passing the ball between themselves, they ensured the Toymaker could never anticipate its trajectory. Their strategy worked, and they emerged victorious. Once defeated, the Doctors expelled the Toymaker from existence, sending him back to his dimension beyond the confines of reality.
Although they succeeded in their mission, the Toymaker left behind an ominous warning, claiming that his legions would soon arrive. This could be a hint at what is to come in the upcoming Doctor Who Christmas Special, where Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor is set to encounter goblins.
These creatures, much like the Toymaker, may exist at the intersection of myth and science, though the trailer does suggest they operate from a spaceship.
The Anniversary Specials Pave the Way for the Master’s Return
During an earlier conversation, the Toymaker boasted about his past victories, proudly telling the Doctor that he had turned the Doctor’s history into a puzzle.
This could be seen as a playful nod to Doctor Who’s continuity inconsistencies, including multiple destructions of Skaro and Atlantis, conflicting accounts of historical events, and the countless adventures depicted in various tie-in media.
It might also serve as an explanation for the contradictions introduced by the Timeless Child storyline. After gloating about his alterations to the Doctor’s past, the Toymaker then spoke of another conquest—the Master.
According to him, the Master had lost a game and, as a result, had been trapped inside his gold tooth for eternity. Although the Toymaker himself was erased from existence, his gold tooth remained. In the closing moments of The Giggle, a female hand was shown picking it up, though her identity was not revealed.
Someone from UNIT likely retrieved it. This strongly suggests that the Master’s return is imminent, particularly within 21st-century Earth. The potential of this modern UNIT team makes the prospect even more intriguing.
Interestingly, in the first of the Doctor Who anniversary specials, Donna remarked never trusting a man with a goatee, which could have subtly foreshadowed the Master’s reappearance.
Doctor Who Finally Addresses David Tennant’s Return – and Hints at a Possible Spinoff
The Doctor Who anniversary specials finally explained why David Tennant returned as the Fourteenth Doctor—he still had unfinished matters to resolve. Throughout his existence, the Doctor has always been on the move, rarely pausing long enough to process past traumas or experience a settled life.
The Doctors outplay a timeless trickster (Photo: Doctor Who’s Anniversary Specials/BBC Studios Productions Bad Wolf show)Donna, however, offered the Fourteenth Doctor something he had never truly had before—a family. He chose to stay on Earth with the Noble family, though his connection to UNIT suggests that he will continue to be involved in new adventures.
There have been longstanding speculations about a potential UNIT spinoff, and now the possibility of such a series seems even stronger—perhaps one that features David Tennant’s Fourteenth Doctor as a key character.
A show set on Earth with Tennant’s Doctor at its center would bear similarities to Jon Pertwee’s era, during which the Third Doctor was exiled to Earth and developed a close bond with an earlier version of UNIT.
It is exciting to see Doctor Who potentially revisit this dynamic with a version of the Doctor that audiences have warmly embraced.
Both David Tennant & Ncuti Gatwa Now Have Their TARDIS
Initially, it appeared that the anniversary specials were setting up a moment where the two Doctors would decide who would leave with the TARDIS. However, the Fifteenth Doctor soon realized that the Toymaker’s actions had left the fabric of reality in an unstable state, meaning they had yet to claim their reward.
He immediately knew what they should receive—a second TARDIS. Using a hammer, he struck the TARDIS, causing it to duplicate. Now, both the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Doctors each possess a TARDIS, identical in most aspects, except for a jukebox that has been added to Gatwa’s version.
David Tennant’s Fourteenth Doctor has chosen to remain on Earth with the Noble family, while Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor has already demonstrated a commanding presence as he embarks on new adventures in the TARDIS.
His journey continues in the upcoming Doctor Who Christmas Special, The Church on Ruby Road, where he will meet his first companion, Millie Gibson’s Ruby Sunday. There is much anticipation surrounding what lies ahead.
