Mark Gatiss will live out a lifelong dream and be The Doctor’s companion in the forthcoming Doctor Who Christmas special. In addition to writing multiple episodes of Doctor Who, Gatiss has previously made appearances as Professor Lazarus in the third series alongside David Tennant. Gatiss made two vocal cameos as Spitfire pilot Danny Boy in series five and six, and he played a deadly game of chess with Matt Smith’s Doctor in the series six episode The Wedding of River Song.

In many ways, it is very fitting that Gatiss makes a final on screen appearance for Steven Moffat’s era as he’ll be able to act opposite David Bradley’s First Doctor. Gatiss wrote the magnificent docudrama An Adventure in Space and Time that starred Bradley as William Hartnell. It’s all coming full circle.

There has been a lot of discussion about Jodie Whittaker’s casting as the Thirteenth incarnation, and some of the comments have been deeply upsetting to read. I’ve been watching Doctor Who since I was eight years old, so I’ve been a fan for 28 years. We’re all entitled to an opinion, and every regeneration always ruffles somebody’s preverbal feathers. I wasn’t skeptical over Tennant (turned out great), I thought Matt Smith was too young (he was brilliant) and I thought Capaldi was too well known to make the role his own (wrong again). So, surely any true Whovian should give Jodie a fair chance, regardless of any misgivings, before proclaiming they’re done with the show.

By all means, give up on Doctor Who if series eleven is terrible, but judge a creative decision after you’ve seen it, not before it has been made. Peter Capaldi will exit the series during the closing moments of the Christmas special, and Jodie will make her debut. Three Doctors in one episode, what more could we possibly want for Christmas.