After serving the Lord during the busy Christmas season, the Commons Speaker’s chaplain will enjoy another ritual — relaxing by watching the Time Lord.

The Venerable Tricia Hillas said, after wrapping up her Christmas duties at Westminster Abbey, nothing will get in the way of her watching the newest instalment of Doctor Who on the BBC.

Like millions of other sci-fi fans, Mrs Hillas will be tuning in to watch Ncuti Gatwa, who recently became the fifteenth doctor, in action during the Christmas Day special.

Mrs Hillas, who is also a canon steward and archdeacon of Westminster, will be part of a host of Church of England services at the Abbey on Christmas Eve before returning for three further services on Christmas Day.

After that, it will be time to put the day job and life in Westminster aside for a personal passion.

“Come about seven o’clock at night, I’ll be feet-up, comfortably watching the Doctor Who special — that is what I’ve booked in.

“Nothing gets between me and that,” she told PA news agency.

Mrs Hillas added: “It will be fab. (But) don’t call me on the 26th. I’m hoping very much for a recall not to happen.”

The chaplain to Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle spent a good deal of her time before MPs broke for recess on Tuesday readying Parliament for Christmas.

She said the switching on of the lights on the Christmas tree in New Palace Yard on December 5 marked the “launch of Christmas” for those on the Westminster estate, with a chance to gather and sing carols.

Tricia Hillas
The Speaker’s Chaplain, Rev Tricia Hillas (UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/PA)

While not itself a religious celebration, Mrs Hillas said there were also other opportunities put on for MPs to mark a “celebration that has some very deep roots”.

Christmas, a time when Christians mark the birth of Jesus Christ, is only second to Easter in terms of importance in the church’s calendar.

Despite the religious origins of the holiday period, the church has battled to keep the Christian message prominent as the festival takes on an increasingly secular tone in the UK.

According to polling published by YouGov in 2020, six in ten Britons who celebrate the occasion say they do so as a completely secular event.

Mrs Hillas said she is “grateful” for any “goodwill” messages she receives at this time of year, even if it comes in the form of secular-style greeting cards.

“Actually, I’m so glad that people are celebrating, to be honest,” she said.

“And good wishes, goodwill is really important, it is what we need.

“And so actually, if anyone has taken the time to celebrate and wish good for me, I’m really grateful.”