The BBC have confirmed the timeslot for the first episode of the new series of Doctor Who; The Woman Who Fell to Earth will be broadcast at 6.45pm on October 7th, giving it a strong early evening position in one of the BBC’s strongest line-ups of the week.

However, as well as the move from Saturday evenings to Sundays, STARBURST believes another move may be on the cards – this time involving the seasonal special, the eleventh episode of the recent recording schedule.

It’s been suggested to one of our reporters that the special episode will be set on New Year’s Day rather than the traditional Christmas Day, which tallies with the secrecy surrounding the confirmation of this year’s extra episode – we’ve heard that there will be one, but those in the know have been very careful not to refer to it as a ‘Christmas Special’ – if the special itself is intended to be transmitted on the more esteemed (in TV broadcasting terms) public holiday, rather than in a sleepy slot on December 25th. It’s where all but the first series of Sherlock have debuted, for example.

It’s just a suggestion at this stage, and we’re fully prepared to end up with egg on our face. But mark our words, there may not be a Doctor Who Christmas Special at all this year. Instead, we might well be getting a Seasonal Special on the first day of next year.