The first Doctor Who Christmas special aired back in 2005, and for the past 19 years, has returned every year (apart from a few missing episodes between 2018 and 2022).

The festive editions of the show are always a huge spectacle, and with 13 of them to choose from, there are plenty of iconic moments worth mentioning. Here are some of the best.

Iconic moments from the Doctor Who Christmas special episodes

The Christmas Invasion - 2005

In 2005, the annual Doctor Who Christmas special tradition was launched. The Christmas Invasion also happened to be David Tennant's first full episode as the new Doctor, having regenerated from Christopher Eccleston in the 2005 series finale.

However, the new Doctor spent most of the episode in bed, recovering from his traumatic change. Until the Sycorax aliens invaded, that is.

With the Doctor in a coma in the TARDIS, Rose, Mickey, Harriet Jones, and some of her crew were tasked with dealing with the murderous Sycorax.

But, when all hope seemed lost and Rose and co. are about to die, the TARDIS doors were flung open, and out stepped the new Doctor, dressed in his jim jams.

"Did you miss me?" he groaned, before telling off the Sycorax leader, foiling his plan, defeating him in a sword fight, and then killing him. All in a day's work.

It was our first proper introduction to the new Doctor and gave us a real glimpse at what was to come. It proved to be a great introduction, considering David Tennant went on to arguably the most popular Doctor of all time (second maybe only to Tom Baker). A great entrance and a definite iconic moment.

TARDIS chase on the motorway from The Runaway Bride - 2006

In 2006, the Doctor Who Christmas special returned with The Runaway Bride, starring Catherine Tate as the eponymous bride, Donna Noble.

Teleported from her wedding on Christmas Eve to the TARDIS, a large chunk of the first half of the episode revolved around the Doctor trying to get Donna back to her nuptials.

Giving up with his help, Donna hopped into the back of a taxi, which, unbeknownst to her, was being driven by a robot Santa who wanted to kidnap her.

The Doctor raced back to the TARDIS, before chasing the taxi down the motorway, weaving in between speeding cars in the process.

It was such a fun, cool, exciting moment that showed off how far the new series had come special effects-wise since it was last on in the 80s.

On a personal note, this moment has stayed with me ever since I first saw it as a nine-year-old. I don't think I have seen anything as epic or as exciting since.

Astrid Peth's sacrifice from Voyage of the Damned - 2007

In 2007, the Doctor Who Christmas special brought in the show's highest ratings since coming back (and still to this day), thanks to one person - Kylie Minogue.

The Australian pop sensation was a guest star on the festive episode, playing Astrid Peth, a waitress working on the Titanic, a spaceship circling the skies of Planet Earth on Christmas Eve.

After a meteor strike crippled the ship, the Doctor, Astrid, and a band of survivors learned that the strike wasn't an accident - it was all part of the rich, greedy owner's plan to make a quick buck from insurance money. It just so happened that his plan also involves destroying the Earth in the process.

In a valiant act of bravery, Astrid sacrificed herself to rid the universe of the villain, Max Capricorn, pushing down him into the ship's engine. However, in a tragic turn of events, Astrid too plunged to her death, giving us one of the most melodramatic, beautiful, silly death scenes in the show's history.

Poor Astrid. Poor Kylie.

The return of the Time Lords deserves a spot in Doctor Who Christmas special iconic moments - From The End of Time - 2009

The 2009 Doctor Who Christmas special was iconic for a couple of reasons. Not only was it David Tennant's final one in the role, but it was also the return of John Simm's Master and the Time Lords.

When Doctor Who returned in 2005, it was revealed the Doctor was now the last of his kind. His race, the Time Lords, had been wiped out in an epic Time War with the Daleks.

However, the 2009 Christmas special, The End of Time Part 1, showed that this wasn't quite the case. The Time Lords were, in fact, alive, but were trapped within the Time War. They were planning on making a return to the universe and were going to use the Doctor and the Master to get what they wanted.

The gasp-worthy reveal that the Time Lords were back was shown right at the end of the Christmas special.

"The Master had no concept of his greater role in events. For this was far more than humanity's end. For this day was the day upon which the whole of creation would change forever. This was the day the Time Lords returned," Timothy Dalton announced as the Time Lords were revealed in all their glory.

"For Gallifrey! For victory! For the end of time itself!"

Chills.

'Run you clever boy, and remember' from The Snowmen - 2012

The 2012 Doctor Who Christmas special could have ended on a bit of a downer, if not for the hopeful ending.

Set in the 1800s, The Snowmen saw the Doctor, Madame Vastra (a sword-wielding Silurian), Jenny (her wife), and Strax (a disgraced Sontaran), battle the Great Intelligence, a corporeal enemy who wanted to take over the world using snow and ice.

Joining them in their fight was Clara, a barmaid who also masqueraded as a nanny. However, during their dealings with the Great Intelligence, Clara was mortally wounded.

As she slipped away, Clara whispered a mysterious message to the Doctor.

"Run you clever boy, and remember."

It's at this moment that the Doctor realised he'd met Clara before, as a different incarnation of her once whispered the same thing to him as she died.

Filled with renewed hope, the Doctor embarked on a mission to find out the truth about Clara and figured out how she could have existed - and died - in two different places throughout time and space.

This was not only an iconic moment from the Christmas special episode, but an iconic moment for Clara in Doctor Who - who would go on to feature in another two and a half seasons before leaving in 2015.

The Eleventh Doctor regenerates from The Time of the Doctor - 2013

Matt Smith's final episode ended with a bang as his Eleventh Doctor regenerated into Peter Capaldi's twelfth.

During his swansong episode, The Time of the Doctor, the Doctor spent 900 years on the planet Trenzalore in a stalemate, trapped between the Time Lords and all the evils in the known universe.

The Time Lords, trapped in another universe, wanted to return to the universe proper. Every alien in the Doctor Who back catalogue wasn't keen on the prospect. If the Doctor spoke his true name, the Time Lords would know it was safe to return. However, if they didn't return, the hordes of evil would open fire, killing them instantly.

The Doctor was trapped in the middle, unable to let the Time Lords back, but unable to leave out of fear every alien ever would burn the world.

Eventually, the Doctor grew old, very old, and began to regenerate, wiping out an army of Daleks in the process. He then retired to his TARDIS, where he completed his regeneration into Peter Capaldi.

"Kidneys! I've got new kidneys! I don't like the colour," he said before the TARDIS started to crash.

And thus began the Peter Capaldi era.

Clara's fake-out exit from Last Christmas - 2014

The following year's Doctor Who Christmas special saw the Doctor, Clara, Santa, and a team of researchers in the North Pole battle the Dream Crabs.

The Dream Crabs were capable of placing their victims in a dream state as they sucked their brains out. Sometimes, victims were placed in dreams within dreams - very Inception-esque.

Towards the end of the episode, after supposedly defeating the Dream Crabs, the Doctor reunited with Clara - however, he realised that he was too late - 50 years too late. Clara was an old woman now, and her time was drawing to a close.

As an old Clara and the Doctor pulled a cracker together on Christmas Eve, the Doctor expressed his regret over waiting so long to return.

"I was stupid. I should have come back earlier. I wish that I had," he said.

It was at this point that Santa walked in and revealed that the Doctor was still dreaming.

Waking, the Doctor hurried back to Earth, back to Clara, to invite her back onto the TARDIS and continue their travels.

As the music swelled and tears formed in the eyes of viewers, Clara leaned over, kissed the Doctor's cheek, and wished him a merry Christmas.

And then they ran off to the TARDIS, for another series of adventures. A beautiful moment, and one of the best Christmas moments Doctor Who has ever produced.

'24 years' from The Husbands of River Song - 2015

The 2015 Christmas special - The Husbands of River Song - saw the return of fan favourite character, River Song, aka the Doctor's wife.

After battling King Hydroflax and his worshippers, the Doctor and River landed on the planet Darillium. However, Darillium wasn't any old planet. According to legends, it was the planet where the Doctor and River spent their final night together before she died.

As the Doctor and River stood listening to the Singing Towers of Darillium, River begged her husband not to allow that night to be their final one together.

"Not everything can be avoided. Not forever," the Doctor said.

"Every night is the last night for some, every Christmas is last Christmas," he then went on, leaving River heartbroken.

But there was still time for one last Christmas miracle.

"Assuming tonight is all we have left, how long is a night on Darillium?" River asked.

With a smile, the Doctor turned and said: "24 years."

Cue tears as the episode ended with River and the Doctor smiling at each other, with 24 more years ahead of them before they had to say goodbye.

A truly beautiful moment for the show as a whole - and a hugely iconic Doctor Who Christmas moment.

The Twelfth Doctor regenerates from Twice Upon A Time - 2017

The 2017 festive episode, Twice Upon a Time, was the end of an era for a variety of reasons. Not only was it Peter Capaldi's final episode as the Doctor, but it was also Steven Moffat's final as showrunner.

Twice Upon A Time was also the final Christmas episode for six years, with the Jodie Whittaker era opting to put their festive episodes out on New Year's Day instead.

Acting as a coda to the 2017 season finale, Twice Upon A Time followed the mortally wounded Doctor as he reunited with his first incarnation. Together, they attempted to find out the truth behind Testimony, an alien organisation that was set up to take the testimonies of all of humanity's dead.

After realising that there was no evil behind the organisation, the Doctors decided it was time to move on and regenerate.

After the Twelfth Doctor returned to his TARDIS, he regenerated into the 13th Doctor, played by Jodie Whittaker.

An iconic moment not only for the regeneration but for being the first time that a woman has taken over the lead role in the series.

As the TARDIS began to crash and the new Doctor fell out of it, a new era was born.

The Goblin Song also makes the list of Doctor Who Christmas special iconic moments from The Church on Ruby Road - 2023

Last Christmas saw Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson star together in their first Christmas special. It was also Millie's debut on the show.

During the episode, the Doctor and Ruby (Gibson) embarked on a mission to prevent time-traveling goblins from stealing a baby and feeding her to their Goblin King.

Sneaking through the Goblin's ship, the Doctor and Ruby were horrified to hear the Goblin's break out into song - specifically, a song about how much they were looking forward to cooking and eating the baby.

Crashing the Goblins' party (literally), the Doctor and Ruby were forced into singing their way out of trouble, before snatching the baby back and jumping out of the ship.

Despite being less than a year old, it's an instantly iconic moment and a sign of the fun to come in the Ncuti Gatwa era of the show.

Bring on the Doctor Who Christmas special iconic moments for 2024!

The Doctor Who Christmas special airs on Christmas Day at 5.10pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.