Doctor Who makes last-minute Christmas Number 1 attempt with The Goblin Song

Get in that TARDIS! Doctor Who has only gone and put in what we can only assume is a last-minute bid for Christmas Number 1 with a brand new original ditty, The Goblin Song (very festive). 

Taken from the forthcoming Christmas Day special The Church on Ruby Road - which acts as the first official episode for Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor and the introduction to his next companion, Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) - The Goblin Song was written by series showrunner Russell T Davies, which music by the show's composer, Murray Gold. 

Released ahead of the episode's air date, The Goblin Song basically does what it says on the tin, with a group of outer space goblins narrating exactly what they plan on doing to the baby they've kidnapped from Earth (spoiler alert: nothing good), before the chorus introduces their leader, the Goblin King. He's not a myth, he's an actual thing!

The BBC has already released a very special lyric video for the track, which you can watch below. It includes a clip of the Doctor and Ruby trying to rescue the poor baby from the goblin's spaceship. 

MORE: The Official contenders for Christmas Number 1 2023

Of course, there are more eyes on Doctor Who than there have been for the last few years right now. Last Saturday saw the culmination of the show's 60th anniversary celebrations with The Giggle, which saw returning Doctor David Tennant (playing the new, Fourteenth incarnation of the Time Lord) bi-generate and split in two, revealing the brand, sparkling new Fifteenth Doctor, played by Sex Education's Ncuti Gatwa. 

Now, nothing says Christmas like a Doctor Who special and thanks to the show's new licensing deal with Disney Plus, the newly-minted ambition of the primetime sci-fi drama is easy to see. Russell T Davies has successfully soft-rebooted the show and re-introduced it to a brand new generation at its creative height...surely Christmas Number 1 is the next logical step...right?

This is not the first time that Doctor Who has bothered the charts. In 1988, a novelty single by The Timelords (aka KLF members Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty) reached Number 1 on the Official Singles Chart.

But the goblins have a lot of competition to eat their way through first! Wham! are currently Number 1 on the Official Singles Chart with Last Christmas, naming them as the act to beat for the year's most important Number 1.

2023 might be the year Mariah Carey finally gets her Christmas crown with All I Want For Christmas Is You or could it be Sam Ryder's time to claim his first-ever Number 1 single with the Amazon Music Original You're Christmas To Me?

One thing is for sure, the race for Christmas Number 1 (which officially starts this Friday, December 15) is the most unpredictable chart race of the year. We wouldn't count those nefarious little goblins and their yassified-lead singer out just yet!

Follow the Official Christmas Number 1 race:

The Official Christmas Number 1 race 2023 kicks off Friday December 15 with sales and streams counting up until midnight (11.59pm) on Thursday, December 21.

Tune in to The Official Chart on BBC Radio 1 on Friday December 22 from 4pm to hear the Christmas Top 40 countdown and the exclusive reveal of the Official Christmas Number 1 2023.

The full Top 100 Official Christmas Singles Chart and Albums Chart will be published on OfficialCharts.com from 5.45pm.

Join the conversation now using the hashtag #XmasNo1. Follow @OfficialCharts on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. For all the latest race updates join the Official Charts mailing list for Breaking News on this year’s race and beyond.

Doctor Who's Christmas special The Church on Ruby Road airs Christmas Day on BBC One at 5.55pm. The Goblin Song is out now. Babies beware!

Pictures: BBC/Disney