We’re halfway through the current run of 8 episodes of Doctor Who and still have the 50th anniversary and much more to look forward to! So what better time to catch up with the show’s lead writer and executive producer, Steven Moffat, to ask him about what we can expect from the future…

Question: Opening up the final part of this series we get to explore the Doctor’s time travelling machine in Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS, but what surprises can we expect?

Steven Moffat: We’ve already revealed that the Doctor has a swimming pool and the TARDIS has a problem with Time Zombies, but there’s much, much more than that. We guarantee there will be surprises, but you’ll have to watch to find out exactly where we’ll be going as we finally explore beyond the console room.

Q: Why did you decide to introduce creepy new monsters, The Whisper Men, in the last episode? What was your inspiration for them?

SM: The great dilemma is that Doctor Who is never more like Doctor Who when it is introducing a new monster, but equally when it’s reviving a foe from the classic era. Having brought back two of the classics, the Ice Warriors and the Cybermen, this year we wanted a brand new monster to create chills in the finale. And the thought of stylish whispering almost faceless creatures was an idea that firstly scared me and that I thought would work well in an episode that looks forward and back.

Q: We know that the Cybermen return with an updated design, why did you decide to change them?

SM: One of the things that the Cybermen historically like to do before involving themselves in a new military campaign is run up a new outfit. Throughout the classic series they always changed their appearance and we’ve been very consistent with them. I thought it was time that they went back to their tailor and had a re-model!

Q: How was it having mother and daughter Dame Diana Rigg and Rachael Stirling on set for The Crimson Horror?

SM: It’s obviously a great honour to have either of those actors on the show, but to have them acting together for the very first time on anything is quite extraordinary. Only Doctor Who can do this and possibly only when Mark Gatiss is behind it.

Q: What can you tell us about the finale?

SM: It’s full of surprises and questions that have never been answered in the history of Who, including the Doctors greatest secret. We’re not pretending, we’re not kidding, it’s actually going to happen. The episode is called The Name of the Doctor and involves our hero in a conflict that is very, very personal to him. Usually he’s saving other people, but this time he might be the one who needs to be saved. We’ll also find out what makes his new companion so impossible and there’s a surprise that no one has got right so far, and one that will change the course of Who forever!