New Doctor Who teaser shows off a brilliant Tardis trick

Now, while it’s unlikely this footage will show up in the actual series (it’s probably just supposed to give a sense of the tone), fans may still be pleased to recognise its dialogue from comments previously made by Steven Moffat in describing the Time Lord back in 2013.

“A lot of our heroes depress me. But you know, when they made this particular hero, they didn't give him a gun, they gave him a screwdriver to fix things,” he said at the time at the Doctor Who Celebration.

“They didn't give him a tank or a warship or an X-wing fighter, they gave him a call box from which you can call for help. And they didn't give him a superpower or pointy ears or a heat ray...they gave him two hearts.

“And that's an extraordinary thing. There will never come a time when we don't need a hero like the Doctor.”

Clearly, this is an idea that Moffat has clung onto in the intervening years (he’s very good at that, as we’ve previously learned), and now has finally got to realise in glorious computer-generated form, and with no less than the Doctor's companion voicing the sentiments.

Steven Moffat will be in conversation with Frank Skinner at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival at BFI Southbank, London on 9th April; Peter Capaldi and Pearl Mackie take part in a panel discussion and preview of the new series of ‘Doctor Who’ at the festival, also on 9th April (020 7928 3232); and Doctor Who writer Mark Gatiss will be in conversation with Radio Times TV Editor Alison Graham, also on the 9th April.

Doctor Who returns to BBC1 on Saturday 15th April