James R | On 02, Sep 2015

Christmas comes early for Alex Kingston fans this year, with the news that River Song will return to TV screens.

The Professor, time traveller and occasional wife of The Doctor, will appear in the 2015 Christmas special, which follows the ninth season of the sci-fi series, which returns to the BBC this month.

The special, which is written by showrunner Steven Moffat and directed by Sherlock and Doctor Who veteran Douglas Mackinnon, begins filming this week, years after River Song’s first appearance in Silence in the Library. She has since been in 15 episodes of the show and, while sometimes divisive, sparked an outburst of fan excitement on Twitter after today’s announcement, trending on Twitter for several hours.

“It’s Christmas Day in the future and the TARDIS is parked on a snowy village street, covered in icicles, awaiting its next adventure. Time traveller River Song meets her husband’s new incarnation, in the form of Peter Capaldi, for the first time this Christmas,” said the BBC in an official statement.

“To be honest, I did not know whether River would ever return to the show, but here she is, back with the Doctor for the Christmas special,” says Kingston. “Steven Moffat is on glittering form, giving us an episode filled with humor and surprise guest castings. I met Peter for the first time at Monday’s read through. We had a laugh, and I am now excited and ready to start filming with him and the Doctor Who team. Christmas in September?, why not!”

Moffat remains his usual cryptic self, adding: “The last time the Doctor saw her, she was a ghost. The first time he met her, she died. So how can he be seeing her again? As ever, with the most complicated relationship in the universe, it’s a matter of time…”

The new 12-episode season of Doctor Who will start on Saturday 19 September. The Christmas special will air – you guessed it – on Christmas Day.

Photo: Jon Hall / BBC

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