Updated on 30 November: Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a plethora of brilliant TV shows to get stuck into. And this year is no different, despite Covid-19’s best efforts, as we have a fantastic festive TV schedule to look forward to.

Top of our list? Doctor Who, obviously! 

BBC One has unveiled the first trailer for this year’s festive special edition of the sci-fi show, which will see Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor come up against the Daleks. Again.

And, aptly titled Revolution Of The Daleks, the episode will pick up pretty much exactly where the 12th series left off: The Doctor seems doomed to end her days in a high-security alien prison, while her human companions Yaz (Mandip Gill), Ryan (Tosin Cole) and Graham (Bradley Walsh) go about their normal lives on Earth without her.

But then the trio accidentally stumble across a disturbing plan. A disturbing plan involving (you guessed it) a Dalek. 

With no way of knowing where The Doctor is, it seems as if they may be forced to take on the murderous metal alien without her. Thankfully, though, John Barrowman’s Captain Jack Harkness is there to lend an experienced hand – and some hard-earned advice.

“Being with The Doctor, you don’t get to choose when it stops,” he tells them. 

“Whether you leave her, or she leaves you.”

Check it out:

Of course, Barrowman’s isn’t the only familiar face popping up in this episode: Sex And The City’s Chris Noth (or, as we prefer to call him, Mr Big) will also be reprising his role as disgraced hotel owner Jack Robertson.

As you will no doubt recall from series 11 episode Arachnids in the UK, Robertson was very much a villain in the making: not only were his dodgy dealings responsible for the rise of a breed of giant mutant spiders, but he also advocated the use of guns, thinking it civilised.

Indeed, he even stated that his methods and way of thinking would get him into the White House – so excuse us for wondering whether or not he might be to blame for the arrival of the Daleks.

Especially as Killing Eve’s Dame Harriet Walter, who is making her Doctor Who debut as a currently unnamed character, refers to the murderous aliens as the UK’s “new defence drones.”

Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, who has starred in Misfits and The Trial of Christine Keeler, will also be appearing in the star-packed episode.

“We’ve crammed this year’s Doctor Who Festive Special with an explosion of extraordinary acting talent,” showrunner Chris Chibnall promises the Radio Times.

“Where else would you get British acting royalty, a globally renowned US screen star, an (inter)national treasure of stage and screen and one of Britain’s hottest young actors – just in the guest cast!

“Put those together with Jodie Whittaker, Bradley Walsh, Mandip Gill and Tosin Cole (and Daleks! Did I mention Daleks!) – and you get a cast to be exterminated for. And things will explode. Promise.”

As reported on 9 October: It seems safe to assume that there may be tragedy involved, as Chibnall previously teased: “There will be Daleks. There will be exterminations. Thrills, laughter, tears. You know. The usual.

“See you at the end of the year.”

Gulp.

Of course, this will be the first festive special of Doctor Who since 2017 and Whittaker’s first-ever Christmas outing as the Time Lord, so it’s safe to assume that the BBC are going to pull out all the stops to make this episode one of the best yet.

As such, it’s safe to assume that it’s going to get an extermi-great spot in the TV schedule. We don’t have any official dates or times yet, but we’re thinking early evening on Christmas Day. You know, just before the Call The Midwife Christmas special.

With that in mind, then, there’s only one question left to ask: will you be watching Doctor Who: Revolution Of The Daleks this Christmas?

Images: BBC One/James Pardon