The Goblins

"These goblins are Time riders. They can surf the waves of Time. They spotted the chance of coincidence, and they went back and they wove you in."

First Regular Appearance

The Church on Ruby Road

The Toymaker’s influence has rippled across the universe, inviting in new and powerful forces that operate on a completely different kind of science. Chance and luck are the tools of the Goblins – diminutive trouble-makers that surf the waves of time, seeking out unlucky babies wrapped in delicious coincidence for them to feed on. Travelling in a mavity-defying sky ship, the Goblins operate as foot soldiers for their massive monarch, the Goblin King.

The coincidence of Ruby Sunday and baby Lulubelle sharing a Christmas Eve birthday proves too good to resist, and the Goblins set their trap by causing a string of accidents and “bad luck” in Ruby’s life. However, their antics attract the attention of the Doctor, who shadows Ruby and protects her from the worst of their mischief. But when the Goblins make their move and steal Lulubelle from her crib, the Doctor and Ruby join forces to chase them into the sky.

Aboard the ship, we learn the Goblins aren’t just mindless baby-eaters. They control the inner workings of the ship with complicated rope fixtures, and they even enjoy some music with their meal! As the Goblin Band plays Lulubelle to her fate, the Doctor and Ruby crash the dinner party, and distract the Goblin King with a song of their own. With the help of a handy rope and the Doctor’s intelligent gloves, they smash through the bottom of the ship and back to safety.

Starved and furious, the Goblins take their revenge by travelling back to Christmas Eve 2004, taking baby Ruby from where she had been left on the steps of the church on Ruby Road. The Goblins’ meddling in the past causes a break in the timeline that erases Ruby, which has devastating effects on the Sunday family and their history. Seconds before the Goblins can have their feast, however, the Doctor chases down the ship and brings it crashing down on top of a church spire, impaling the Goblin King and ending his influence on the timeline for good.