The countdown is officially on for ‘Doctor Who’ fans and with less than a week to go until Peter Capaldi bows out as the Time Lord, a new teaser trailing the upcoming Christmas Day episode has been revealed.
The short clip sees the Doctor and his assistant, Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie), leaping off the top of the Tardis with The Captain (Mark Gatiss) and the First Doctor (David Bradley) as a spaceship takes it away.
And while the foursome initially seem doomed, the First Doctor has a cunning plan…
Steven Moffat has also teased the hotly-anticipated episode, revealing that Peter had a hand in deciding how his character will bow out.
“Once we got into shooting it [the regeneration], however, and especially when we approached filming Peter’s last moments as the Doctor, which were done at the end of the shoot, we did talk more about how exactly he should meet his end,” he said. “We were both very pleased with that final section of the script already, but as we went through piece by piece we thought there were ways to improve it so I’d be banging out new pages each night for us to discuss on set each day.
“That was so enjoyable and exciting to do – to really feel that we were getting his send off right – that in a way it took whatever emotions we were both having about leaving and put them on screen where they belong.
“By the time we got to that part of filming I think Peter and I were probably the least emotional on set because we’d put it all in the show.”
The festive episode will see the Time Lord regenerate, with Jodie Whittaker becoming the first female Doctor, and it also marks Steven’s final one as showrunner, with ‘Broadchurch’ writer Chris Chibnall taking over ahead of the next series.
'Doctor Who' Celebrity Appearances
Anne Robinson(01 of11)
Open Image ModalAnne voiced a robot version of herself, the hillarious Anne Droid, in the episode 'Bad Wolf'. The Anne Droid fronts a dystopian version of 'The Weakest Link', who obliterates contestants with a laser, rather than the 21st century Anne's acidic putdowns.The episode also saw Davina McCall playing a Davinadroid, who hosted a futuristic version of 'Big Brother' (we suppose that would be an Emmadroid now...). (credit:BBC)
Peter Kay(02 of11)
Open Image ModalBeneath those alarming prosthetics sits Peter Kay, who went all out for his appearance in the episode 'Love & Monsters'.The Northern comedian played The Abzorbaloff, who masqueraded as a human being, in an episode in which The Doctor and his companion featured only briefly.We suppose if you'd splashed out on that costume you'd want it to be seen as much as possible... (credit:BBC)
Kylie Minogue(03 of11)
Open Image ModalKylie played Astrid Peth, companion to David Tennant's Doctor in the 2007 Christmas special, 'Voyage Of The Damned'.She received a mixed reception for the part, which was created especially for her by producer Russell T Davies, with most of the action taking place on a re-imagined futuristic Titanic.Good boots, too. (credit:WENN)
David Walliams(04 of11)
Open Image ModalAnother British comedian who underwent quite the makeover for his 'Who' role.David played the Gibbis in the episode 'The God Complex', a rodent-like alien who encounters Matt Smith's Doctor when he crash-lands in what appears to be an 80s hotel.And you thought 'The Shining' was weird... (credit:BBC)
Suranne Jones(05 of11)
Open Image ModalSuranne had the honour of playing a new incarnation of a 'Doctor Who' staple in 2011, when she took on the role of a humanoid version of the TARDIS.In 'The Doctor's Wife', Surrane plays Idris, a human who takes on the personality of the TARDIS, with Michael Sheen also making a voice appearance in the episode. (credit:BBC)
James Corden(06 of11)
Open Image ModalJames played The Doctor's temporary housemate, Craig Owens, in the episode 'The Lodger', which sees The Doctor stranded on Earth, and forced to fit in with everyday humans.He reprised the role in the following series, during which he's married to Sophie (Daisy Haggard), who Matt Smith's Doctor helped him get together with, and they have a baby son. (credit:BBC)
Olivia Colman(07 of11)
Open Image ModalOlivia's 'Doctor Who' role was a fairly ordinary one... oh, unless you count those terrifying gnashers, that is. (credit:BBC)
Keeley Hawes(08 of11)
Open Image ModalLike several guest stars before her, Keeley's appearance in the last series of 'Doctor Who' was only meant to be a one-off stint.However, her appearance as the villainous Ms Delphox was so well-received by Whovians that they can look forward to her reprising the role in the latest series. (credit:BBC)
Derek Acorah(09 of11)
Open Image ModalIn a rare moment of self-awareness from Derek Acorah, he appeared in a brief cameo role during the episode 'Army Of Ghosts', joking that he'd no longer be of use once ghosts began to roam the earth.It was a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance on a TV screen, but we enjoyed it nontheless. (credit:BBC)
Catherine Tate(10 of11)
Open Image ModalViewers were so taken with Catherine Tate's portrayal of Donna Noble that she eventually wound up as the Doctor's companion, and went on to become one of the most popular characters of the modern era of 'Doctor Who'. (credit:BBC)
Peter Capaldi(11 of11)
Open Image ModalDoes he look a bit familiar to you?Long before he was cast as the Twelfth Doctor himself, Peter Capaldi made an appearance during David Tennant's time as Time Lord, playing Caecillius in an episode set in ancient Pompeii. (credit:BBC)