Doctor Who: The Star Beast Clip Shows Memory-Wiped Donna Meeting Beep The Meep
Donna Noble comes face to face with Beep the Meep in the first clip from Doctor Who's first 60th-anniversary special, "The Star Beast".
Catherine Tate’s Donna Noble encounters her first alien since 2009, as she encounters Miriam Margolyes Beep the Meep in her family home in the first full clip from Doctor Who‘s first 60th-anniversary special, “The Star Beast”. Tate will be reunited with David Tennant for a series of three specials that will air across November and December to mark the series’ milestone. Alongside Donna, other members of the Noble family will return, including Sylvia (Jacqueline King), Wilf (Bernard Cribbins), and Shaun (Karl Collins), while Yasmin Finney will make her debut as Donna and Shaun’s daughter, Rose.
To celebrate 60 years since Doctor Who first premiered on November 23, 1963, the official Doctor Who Twitter account has shared the first full clip of the first Doctor Who 60th-anniversary special, “The Star Beast”, ahead of its November 25 premiere.
It's Donna versus the Meep! 🧸
For a #DoctorWhoDay treat, watch a clip from the upcoming 60th anniversary special 'THE STAR BEAST' 🛸 #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/HY0Kd20Syt
— Doctor Who (@bbcdoctorwho) November 23, 2023
In the clip, Rose is attempting to hide the Meep in her family home’s shed among a number of plushies she makes to sell, though her plans are quickly foiled when Donna comes to investigate. While the former companion is incredibly impressed by what she believes is an incredibly detailed toy, her amazement soon turns to horror when Meep begins to blink.
Could Donna Noble’s Doctor Who 60th-Anniversary Return Take A Tragic Twist?
A companion of Tennant’s Tenth Doctor in the 2006 Doctor Who seasonal special “The Runaway Bride” and season 4, Donna Noble’s travels with the Doctor helped her see what the universe could offer, both good and bad, all the while allowing her to grow and accept herself more. However, in a desperate fight against the Daleks, Donna underwent a transformation that merged her mind with that of a Time Lord’s, a process that would have killed her had the Doctor not erased her memory and left her with her family. While Donna lost her memories of her travels in the TARDIS, the Doctor left her with a parting gift to ensure a comfortable life in the form of a winning lottery ticket purchased with help from her late father.
However, as hinted in Doctor Who‘s 60th-anniversary trailers, unknown forces may not be done with her yet. While she has lived with her husband Shaun and raised daughter Rose since her last appearance, encounters with anything alien could have led to Donna’s memories returning and threatening to overwhelm her once more, leaving it to Sylvia and Wilf to do their best to ensure no such meetings occur. Even with the new Fourteenth Doctor admitting he may not be able to save her, the 60th-anniversary special’s highest stakes involve just how Donna can overcome her Metacrisis transformation’s side effects.
While it may be two days until Doctor Who‘s 60th-anniversary stories kick-off, the newly released clip is a perfect way to mark the date of the show’s debut. Not only does it give audiences a reintroduction to Donna, but also introduces Rose and her own struggles within the world. Though the Meep may shock Donna, it is only the start of her troubles, as the Doctor is set to stumble into her life once more.
