The series, created by Patrick Ness and focussing on the exploits of a group of students at Coal Hill Academy in London (Coal Hill School, of course being the setting for the very first Doctor Who episode back in 1963) battling extra-terrestrial phenomena attracted to the School thanks to the Doctor’s occasional visits to the area over the years, has been described by Doctor Who’s showrunner Steven Moffat as “a British Buffy… dark and here and right now” with Ness commenting on Twitter, as filming on the series wrapped last week, that “I put my heart into it… can’t wait for you to see it.” The appearance of the Doctor in the first episode will be a useful kickstart for the fledgling series and will mark Capaldi’s first sighting as the Doctor on TV since last year’s Christmas special episode.

Insiders are hinting that Class, which begins in October on BBC3 Online before airing on BBC 1, has already been renewed for a second series and Doctor Who, which has been back in production since June around South Wales (with some location filming having also taken place in Spain), will return in 2017.