The Interstellar Song Contest

"The Interstellar Song Contest" is the sixth episode of the fifteenth series of the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who. It was written by Juno Dawson and directed by Ben A. Williams, and released on BBC iPlayer, BBC One, and Disney+ on 17 May 2025, ahead of the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 on BBC One. In the episode, the Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and his companion, Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu), arrive at the Interstellar Song Contest — a futuristic version of the Eurovision Song Contest – where they uncover a plot to kill trillions of people across space headed up by Kid, a member of the Hellion race who seeks to gain revenge for the negative treatment of his species by the Contest's sponsor company.

This was the first Doctor Who television story written by Dawson, who was advised by showrunner Russell T Davies to write a plot around "Die Hard meets Eurovision". Filmed at Wolf Studios Wales in early 2024, the episode utilised over half of the soundstages present on the lot. Several original songs for the programme were created by Dawson, Davies, and composer Murray Gold. The episode received positive reviews from critics, who praised the script, its humour, Gatwa's performance, the political subtext involving the Hellions, and the return of characters Susan Foreman and the Rani. However, there was criticism over the fast pacing, lack of emotional depth, and the weak development of Kid as the story’s villain.