Away in a manger, no crib for a bed...I know why, the Doctor's said

DOCTOR Who claims to have solved the greatest Biblical mystery in the BBC Christmas Day special - why there was no room at the inn for Mary and Joseph.

- Mark Jefferies

The Time Lord believes all the vacant rooms in Bethlehem had been snapped up by time travellers so there was nowhere left for the couple and that is why they had to stay in a stable.

In the festive episode Joy To The World, The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) will meet a woman called Joy (Bridgerton's Nicola Coughlan) who is staying in a hotel where some of the guests appear to come from the future and the past.

Thanks to time travel, bosses have an opportunity to never have an empty room. So those booked in are a mix of present day visitors and ones from other eras.