With the new series of Doctor Who about to start this Saturday (BBC1, 7.20pm), here's our exclusive episode guide to what will be Peter Capaldi's last series as the The Doctor...
The Doctor and new companion Bill Potts are about to have a new batch of thrilling adventures in time and space as they hop aboard the TARDIS in the latest series of Doctor Who on BBC1 on Saturday. From what we know so far, here's an episode guide on where they'll be going and who'll they'll be facing...
1. The Pilot The Pilot is written by Steven Moffat and sees The Doctor working as a university lecturer when he hooks up with new companion Bill who works in the uni canteen. Together, they face the deadly Daleks and a fascinating new water creature. It guest stars Jekyll and Hyde's Stephanie Hyam as Heather. Matt Lucas is back as lovable alien Nardole who is helping The Doctor.
2. Smile Filmed partly in the City of Arts and Sciences museum complex in Valencia, Spain, the futuristic adventure is written by Frank Cottrell-Boyce. There are killer spaceman-like ‘Emojibots’ who have weird smiley faces. These horrors like to give hugs, then reduce their victims to skeletons. The Royle Family’s Ralf little guest stars as a character called Steadfast.
3. Thin Ice The Doctor and Bill travel back in time to London in the Regency era of 1814, where the Doctor will be donning a top hat and Bill dresses of the era too – and they are both fighting a scary serpent that lurks under the frozen River Thames near Blackfriars Bridge. Thin Ice is written by Sarah Dollard and has former Benidorm actor Nicholas Burns guest starring as a Georgian gentleman.
4. Knock Knock Poirot star David Suchet rocks up as ‘The Landlord’ in this particularly scary tale by Mike Bartlett which reveals what happens when Bill rents a creepy house with friends. Peter Capaldi teases us that this story will leave us petrified of ‘creaking floorboards’. Maybe the giant woodlice rumoured to be in this terror tale have something to do with it.
5. Oxygen Jamie Mathieson previously wrote The Mummy on The Train, Flatline and The Girl Who Died, and has now come up with this equally frightening story Oxygen, featuring a mysterious blue-skinned alien! Look out for Kieran Bew, star of ITV’s recent drama Beowulf, as Ivan in this space adventure that sees The Doctor, Bill and Nardole answer a distress call in deep space, then becoming trapped on board a space station. All but four of the crew have been murdered... but walking dead stalk the ship.
6. Extremis Steven Moffat’s mid-series episode sees the return of Missy (aka the Doctor’s perpetual enemy The Master) who is again played by Michelle Gomez. This story is about an ancient and dangerous book kept in The Vatican's secret library of blasphemy...
7. The Pyramid At The End of The World This episode by Peter Harness and Steven Moffat was partly filmed in Tenerife. We believe Michelle Gomez had scenes on the island so it could well be the second part of a Missy story. We also know John Simm is back as The Master and will meet Missy at some point - they are the same Time Lord after all - so could this be when they have their enormous face off? (Or is it later? See episodes 11 and 12). The Doctor, Bill and Nardole face an alien invasion in this adventure, but before conquest can start, these aliens need consent from the human race.
8. The Lie of the Land ‘Truth monks’ together with ‘memory police’ appear to be invading Earth in another terror tale by Toby Whithouse. The Doctor gets a new jacket in this adventure and Bill is faced with killing her best friend...
9. The Empress of Mars The TARDIS arrives on Mars where a group of Welsh Guards from Victorian times – just like the soldiers in the famous 1964 movie Zulu – are somehow battling against the Ice Warriors on their home planet. You’ll also see these reptilian creatures in ‘The Hive’ where they have been encased. Mark Gatiss has written this adventure.
10. The Eaters of Light The Doctor and his companions head back to the 2nd century when Britain was under the rule of the Romans. There they try to solve the ancient mystery of whatever happened to the 9th legion that disappeared in Scotland. Rona Munro has written this story and the guest cast includes Rebecca Benson, Ben Hunter, Sam Adewunmi and Billy Matthews.
11 and 12. Finale Peter Capaldi gets his long-held wish to see his favourite ever classic alien monster in the two-part series finale written by Steven Moffat. The Doctor comes face to face with the Mondasian Cybermen – an enemy he hasn’t met since an adventure in the 1960s. Missy also returns here, so this could also be where The Master steps into the fray?
Read a fresh new interview with Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi here
