With fans around the world still reeling from the spectacular triumph of ‘The Day of the Doctor’, the fiftieth anniversary Doctor Who special and all the attendant supporting hoopla-la surrounding the anniversary itself, the BBC have been quick to step in to keep the show’s profile high by releasing a new promo image (above) and a story synopsis for this year’s festive special. The episode, now titled ‘The Time of the Doctor’ will air as usual on Christmas evening, its exact timeslot likely to be announced within the next couple of weeks as the Christmas 2013 schedules are finalised. The episode will see Matt Smith make his final appearance as the Doctor before being replaced at the end of the episode by Peter Capaldi.

The official episode synopsis states: “Orbiting a quiet backwater planet, the massed forces of the universe’s deadliest species gather, drawn to a mysterious message that echoes out to the stars. And amongst them – the Doctor. “Rescuing Clara from a family Christmas dinner, the Time Lord and his best friend must learn what this enigmatic signal means for his own fate and that of the universe.”

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