Did you catch Doctor Whos Joy to the World sly reference to a fan-favorite character?

Former showrunner/executive producer/screenwriter Steven Moffat returned to Doctor Who to present audiences with another magical and emotional Christmas special, “Joy to the World.” While the Moffat-penned adventure focuses on a Time Hotel, a lonely but lovely woman (Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlan), and a mysterious briefcase, giddy Whovians have spied all kinds of Easter eggs along the way.Some tie to James Bond, others to classic British TV, and still others to deep-cut Whoniverse lore. However, even the most devoted fans may have overlooked a subtle reference to Madame Vastra and her partner in life and crime-solving, Jenny Flint. Who is Madame Vastra? 

The Silurian Sherlock Holmes is a lizard-humanoid detective who solves crimes in Victorian London with the help of her clever, ever-quipping wife/Watson, Jenny Flint, and their gruff but devoted Sontaran nurse, Strax. Madame Vastra first appeared in the Moffat-penned adventure “A Good Man Goes to War,” Season 6, episode 7. An ally of the Doctor, Vastra has become a fan favorite for her insightful investigative skills and the thrilling collision of her scaly body and buttoned-up Victorian fashion sense.Where are Madame Vastra and Jenny in “Joy to the World”?

Mr. & Mrs. Flockhart (Peter Benedict and Julia Watson) celebrate Christmas during the Blitz.
Credit: Screenshot: YouTube

This holiday episode opens during a not-so-jolly time: Manchester in 1940, where the Blitz rages on. Sirens blare and fires burn outside the home of the posh Flockharts, leading the elderly husband Basil (Peter Benedict) to remark that he used to know someone who lived up by the cathedral that now lies in ruins. His wife Hilda (Julia Watson) sniffs, asking if it was a woman he knew. (Easy, Hilda.) And he responds, “Two women, in fact.” It’s not a lot to go on. But Doctor Who is known for leaving breadcrumbs for fans to follow. So even though Vastra and Jenny are known for living in London — not Manchester — decades before, could they be the “two women” Basil is referencing? Moffat confirmed this in Mashable’s Zoom interview with himself and current Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies.Stephen Moffat confirms Vastra and Jenny reference in “Joy to the World.”

Ncuti Gatwa leaps into action in “Doctor Who: Joy to the World.”
Credit: Disney+

“Joy to the World” references several Moffat-penned episodes, and thereby several of his original creations, including Vastra and the Weeping Angels. I asked about looping in such references to “Blink” and “A Good Man Goes to War,” and Moffat asked me to clarify which reference I could mean. When I recounted Basil’s vague description of an acquaintance, he said, “Actually, it was originally Vastra and Jenny, and then we moved [the Flockharts’ scene] to Manchester.” He went on to say it could still mean the interspecies couple, adding, “They could have been. I mean, more outlandish things have happened in Doctor Who than people living in more than one city. So we could have it, yeah. It could be. That it was [the intention], originally.”And just like that, canon confirmed. And it fits with what we know about Jenny and Vastra, Manchester aside. In the podcast series Doctor Who: Redacted, fans learned Vastra lived through the 20th and into the 21st century, while Jenny died of old age at an unclarified time. That could mean that not far from where the Doctor popped in with his ham-and-cheese toastie and a pumpkin latte, his old friends were huddled together against the German assault. But hey, they’ve endured worse.  How to watch: Doctor Who, “Joy to the World” is now streaming on Disney+.