After more than two years away from the series, Alex Kingston’s enigmatic sort-of-companion River Song is returning to Doctor Who for Christmas; and according to Peter Capaldi, the romantic element between the Doctor and his wife is far from over.


“Yes, there is [a chance for romance],” Capaldi said today at the debut Doctor Who festival in London. “I’m trying not to give it away.”

Kingston’s last appearance came in 2013’s The Name of the Doctor, where she shared a kiss with Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith before saying her (apparently at the time) final farewells – but Capaldi was quick to insist that this appearance wouldn’t be a re-run of her relationship with Doctors past.

“My Doctor is different from the Doctors who were there when Alex first arrived,” Capaldi said. “This Doctor’s different from that. It’s a different dynamic.”

We can hardly wait – but after the Christmas special, how is Capaldi feeling about his future in the series, which Steven Moffat confirmed would not be taking a break next year as some had suspected?

“Next year’s a different thing, and it’s quite interesting and challenging, and scary,” Capaldi said.

“I’ve only done two series, but I’m amazed at how fast it’s gone. I’ve done 26 episodes now, you know. And every time you’ve got through a season, and you’ve discovered all these things about this new Doctor, it’s sort of scrapped and you start again. You have to come to it afresh and find new things – but that’s quite challenging and interesting.

“So I’m fascinated to know where we’re going to go. Because in some ways he’s much more amenable, but in other ways he’s even darker. So I think that makes for a very interesting character.”

Doctor Who Season 9: part 1 is available on DVD and BBC store now.


Doctor Who is on BBC1 tomorrow (Saturday 14th November) at 8.15pm