Last Christmas ( TV story ) Last Christmas was the 2014 " Doctor Who " Christmas special . It was the show ' s tenth Christmas special since its revival , and the first to star Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor . It guest - starred Nick Frost as a dream manifestation of Santa Claus , previously seen at the end of " Death in Heaven " as a lead - in to this story . Casting - wise , it was notable for featuring the first on - screen " Doctor Who " appearance of Michael Troughton , son of Second Doctor actor Patrick Troughton and brother of David Troughton , who had previously made several of his own guest appearances on the series . It also allowed recurring actor Dan Starkey , best known for portraying Strax and other Sontaran characters , to appear with minimal make - up , as an elf . The Christmas special saw the return of Danny Pink , Clara Oswald ' s boyfriend and former Coal Hill School maths teacher — albeit only in Clara ' s dream state . Synopsis . Clara Oswald is in for one Christmas Eve that she ' s never going to forget . Reunited with the Twelfth Doctor , she faces what could possibly be her last Christmas . Something sinister lurks in an arctic base at the North Pole , and it ' s beyond even the most terrible , nightmarish creatures the Doctor has faced before . Who ya gonna call ? Santa Claus ! Plot . On a frosty night before Christmas , Clara Oswald awakens to the sound of an object crashing on her rooftop . Putting on her dressing gown , she leaves her room to investigate and discovers Santa Claus , his elves Ian and Wolf , reindeer and sleigh upon her roof , having crashed after an accident . Ian quickly informs Santa that they ' ve been sighted . They weakly attempt to pass themselves off as ordinary people , but after Clara sees the reindeer flying loose in the sky , they reveal their true identities . One elf points out the beard Santa grew to hide his identity has been public for some time . Clara tries to deny his existence as a fairytale , having always believed her parents had given her presents instead of him , which the elves laugh at . Santa even lists items Clara wanted at Christmas . Santa questions if she still believes in fairy - tales , as the TARDIS materialises . The elves are surprised to have been upstaged . The Doctor emerges , and tells the stunned Clara to remain absolutely silent and go into the TARDIS right away . She obeys . The Doctor leans in close to Santa and states that he knows what is going on , and what is at stake . Santa questions if he truly does , and tells him that before the night is through , the Doctor will be glad for his help . The Doctor departs by wishing Santa a " Happy Easter " , and tells him that no - one likes his tangerine s . The elves laugh , having previously said the same thing to Santa , but weren ' t believed . Inside the TARDIS , Clara comments on how much she had missed it , as the Doctor takes off . He tells Clara that she should trust nothing and be critical towards everything , concluding that the most important question is if she truly believes in Santa Claus . She answers that right now , she does . At a base in the North Pole , a group of scientists are tracking Shona as she enters an infirmary . One of the scientists called Ashley tells Shona not to think about " them " and to concentrate on something else . She enters the infirmary , and begins dancing to Slade ' s " Merry Xmas Everybody " which appears to take her mind off the victims . She reaches the end of the infirmary , by which point the Doctor and Clara appear . As Clara wonders what ' s happened to the victims , they wake up and begin moving . Shona warns them not to think about what they can see , and the Doctor deduce s that the creatures attached to the victim ' s faces are both deaf and blind , but they use telepathy to keep a constant image of themselves in someone ' s memory , allowing them to ' see ' . In an attempt to save Clara , the Doctor insults Danny , succeeding in flooding her mind with emotion . As the victims close in , the scientists appear with guns ready to attack , and then several crab - like creatures appear from the ceiling and attack the group . They ' re then seemingly saved by Santa , who is able to send the victims back to bed . He then brings in a captured creature , which the Doctor recognises as a Kantrofarri or " dream crab " . Santa ' s existence is questioned by everyone ( especially Shona , whom he angers ) , but he encourages them to focus on the dream crabs as Earth may have just seen its last Christmas depending on how many are there . The Doctor encourages Ashley to deduce what they are and what they do ; he then explains that they are dying and most likely asleep . He points to the TARDIS , explaining that reality and fantasy are difficult to tell apart because both are ridiculous . He and Clara then admit to each other that they lied - he about finding Gallifrey , she about Danny returning from the Nethersphere - so the other could move on with their lives to be happy . The Doctor asks Ashley to show him CCTV footage of the other crew members arriving on the base . The footage shows the four crew members discovering the creatures , buried in the snow . The footage then shows one of the creatures coming down from the ceiling , which sends the camera static . The Doctor explains that when a dream crab attacks someone , it places them into a telepathically induced dream state . Whilst the victim is " dreaming " , the crab drills into the victim ' s head and eats away at their brain . And if you are thinking about a dream crab , one is most likely coming for you . Albert compares the creatures to facehugger s , confusing the Doctor ; after Albert explains that he means the horror movie " Alien " , a miffed Doctor explains that it ' s really offensive and must be why real aliens keep invading Earth . Clara goes to check on the captured crab , only to find it missing from the container . It appears and begins to stalk her , at which point Clara tries to distract herself by first thinking of maths equations and then of Danny . This however doesn ' t work and the crab attacks her , putting her into a dream state . She awakens in her dream state , and is surprised to find herself at her house on Christmas day — with a very - much - alive Danny . The Doctor and the group arrive at Clara ' s side , where the Doctor tries to work out a way to remove the crab without killing Clara . Ashley states the only way to remove the crab would be to kill Clara . He refuses to do so , and instead allows himself to become attacked , so he can join Clara in her dream . The Doctor meets with the dream Danny , who greets him in military fashion to annoy him just like the real one would . Clara knows it ' s not real , but wanted to spend more time with Danny ; however , in a few minutes the dream crab will have burrowed too deep into her head to be removed . The dream Danny explains that while he " did " die , it was to save Clara ; the rest of the world got lucky . He encourages Clara to move on , but to mourn him for five minutes a day . The Doctor and Clara awaken , causing the crabs to fall off and disintegrate ; " Carnivore ' s hazard ; food has teeth , too . " Despite waking up , Clara complains of a pain on the right side of her head . Shona compares it to the " ice cream pain " and confirms she has the same pain . The Doctor then works out that they are in fact still in a dream , having been attacked when they arrived . With some help from Santa — who is revealed to be a manifestation of everyone ' s brains telling them something is wrong — the group are able to wake up . They escape the infirmary , barely evading the victims . The Doctor bids farewell to the group as Clara goes after him ; the Doctor explains that unless the group is stupid enough to let the dream crabs out , they should be fine . He also explains he can ' t keep constant watch , stating that there are other dangerous things on the planet . Clara notes they " both " saw Santa on her rooftop , meaning they ' re " still " dreaming . They return to the base where the Doctor questions the scientists on why they only have four base manuals for a crew of eight people . They then come to the realisation that the victims are really themselves , or rather dream constructs of what ' s coming to kill them . The victims awaken and transport themselves through the CCTV , killing Albert in the process . The group travel outside and try to work out a way to escape , of which the Doctor suggests using the TARDIS to escape . Clara notes it isn ' t the real TARDIS , and as they head towards the TARDIS , dream constructs of themselves appear . The Doctor tells everybody to use their imagination to get themselves home , and so they all dream of Santa , who appears in his sleigh and rescues the group . Having been rescued by Santa , the memories of the group ' s real lives start coming back to them , meaning that they ' re waking up in the real world . Shona suggests that they exchange phone numbers so they can meet up once they awaken , but the Doctor states that it ' s unlikely that they ' re remember anything that ' s happened in the dream . One by one , everyone except Clara awakens , who wants to stay in the dream world forever . The Doctor travels to Clara ' s house and is successful in removing the crab from her face with his sonic screwdriver , but finds 62 years have passed for her since they said goodbye in the coffee shop after Danny ' s death ; this places Clara at age 89 . In Clara ' s living room , the Doctor brings in Christmas hats , believing that anything seems funny if the hats are worn . They discuss her life since they last met . She travelled , but never married despite numerous admirers . They pull a cracker together , with the Doctor helping the elderly Clara do so . He apologises for not returning for her sooner , wishing that he had . From the doorway , Santa again appears and asks if he really does wish for that . They are surprised this is yet another crab - induced dream . Santa whispers " Wakey - wakey ! ! " The Doctor awakens for real this time and he travels to Clara ' s house , removing the crab from her face again to reveal that she is still young ; humorously , the Doctor can ' t tell whether Clara is young or not . Realising what could have been , the Doctor invites Clara to resume her travels in the TARDIS with him . She happily agrees and he whisks her away , still in her nightie . As they dematerialise , a tangerine sits on the window sill and there is a faint hint of sleigh bells . . .