Doctor Who Christmas special will upend long-standing companion tradition

And this Christmas, the Doctor will be without a companion, and writer Steven Moffat has revealed exactly why that is.

In a new interview with SFX magazine, Moffat explained: "The show isn't really about the Doctor.

"It's about whoever he meets. Doctor Who does not begin with him stealing the TARDIS and running away. It begins with the schoolteachers following Susan home, and encountering him."

Often, viewers experience the Doctor through the eyes of a companion, and so when there isn't one, "you're sort of thinking, There he is, alone in his TARDIS...'"

With the Doctor being on his lonesome in Joy to the World, viewers will get a glimpse of just what it's like when the Doctor is pottering about on his own in the TARDIS.

"We do go into that a bit in this one, as to what actually goes on in that weird man's head when he's got no one to be the Doctor for," Moffat told the publication.

But the Doctor won't be completely on his own, as he does find himself in a spot of danger when he meets Joy (Nicola Coughlan), a "lonely hotel guest with a connection to a mysterious briefcase".

While the Doctor will be on his own, there will be plenty of laughs shared, with Moffat assuring fans the special won't be as scary as his infamous Blink episode.

"It's got your Christmas whimsy in there, so I suppose it leans toward the slightly more humorous end, to a degree," he told SFX magazine.

"But actually it gets quite emotional, and there's also the fun element that within the context of the wider series the Doctor has just lost one of his mates."

Doctor Who will return to BBC One and BBC iPlayer this Christmas. Previous seasons are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.