Steven Moffat has explained his decision to bring back Matt Lucas’ character Nardole for Series 10 of Doctor Who.

The character, who first appeared in the 2015 Christmas special The Husbands of River Song, was considered a surprising choice by many fans when it was first announced a few months back.

Speaking in the latest issue of DWM, Moffat reasons: “I decided Nardole should return to Doctor Who when Matt Lucas got in touch saying, “I loved being in that show. Can I come back?” And I sat there thinking, ‘Okay, so this guy who’s out in LA being offered every kind of pilot and every kind of career advancement has basically decided that instead of all that wealth and spectacular success, he’d rather go to Cardiff and make Doctor Who.’

“I thought, ‘He is of my kind. He belongs to our world.’ And so now that was an opportunity – given that it was in front of me and possible – I decided to import the best comic timing I’ve ever seen into Doctor Who on a regular basis.