Back to save New York

Returning after a year away, the Doctor takes the Tardis to New York – and is just in time for Christmas.

It’s been 12 months since Doctor Who was last on TV. But what kind of Christmas would it be without a visit from the Tardis?

The vintage blue police box returns from its extended break on Christmas Day with a much anticipated hour-long special – and there’s plenty to satisfy even the Time Lord’s most demanding fans.

The festive episode sees Peter Capaldi pitched into an adventure with deadly aliens, a returning Matt Lucas, and a Superman-style comic book hero – as TV&Satellite Week discovered when we visited the set to find out more.

‘Christmas episodes of Doctor Who are slightly different from the ones during the regular season,’ says Capaldi, when we catch up with him on a break from filming. It’s a wintry day in Cardiff, and we have just hunkered down in the studio to watch the Doctor twiddling dials in a Tardis scene.

‘The Christmas episodes have a responsibility to play to a slightly wider audience – and to be festive, too – and I think this story fulfils both those functions.

A SURPRISING SECRET