Ncuti Gatwa and Nicola Coughlan’s bold festive special blends Christmas romcom tropes with a bit of dinosaur poo – and breaks hearts in the process

This time last year we got our first full-length look at Ncuti Gatwa in the role. Fast forward 12 months, and here was a man with a season behind him, beaming his way confidently through a story that was a mishmash of Christmas movie viewing genres, if somewhat light on plot.

In this Steven Moffat-penned tale, we got an action sequence on a train, treasure hidden in a stone chamber, a lengthy romcom interlude, and even a dinosaur that apparently pooed out an important Christmas plot device. There was also a strong emotional heartbeat running through it, and there will have been tears before bedtime in many a household watching it.