Doctor Who's Steven Moffat defends Doctor's comments that "upset" some fans

But one aspect of the episode struck a sour note with some fans, something Moffat was keen to acknowledge on his X account yesterday evening.

The tense instalment saw a usually affable Fifteenth Doctor face the terrifying prospect of saving himself – and an entire planet – after stepping on a landmine and not being able to move.

At one point, the Doctor is critical of the Anglican Marines fighting an enemy that doesn't exist, saying: "I mean, most armies would notice that they were fighting smoke and shadows. But not this lot, Ruby. You know why? They have faith."

He goes on to call faith "the magic word that keeps you never having to think for yourself" and sarcastically chides Sethu's Mundy Flynn for asking him to prove what he means, saying: "What, seriously? Now you need proof, Faith Girl?"

Acknowledging that some fans took issue with the comments, Moffat wrote yesterday: "Ah. The faith issue: I know some people of faith were upset, but keep in mind: the Doctor is scared and heartbroken and so, so angry - this isn't all he thinks on the subject - it's just what's spilling out his mouth as he rages."

He went on: "That's why I included the later line about needing faith. The Doctor has faith that the universe makes sense and that kindness can work: but there's no objective proof of that. How different is that from believing in a God?"

Towards the end of the episode, the Doctor tells young Splice (Caoilinn Springall) to "keep the faith". After Mundy points out that she thought he didn’t like faith much, the Doctor hugs her and admits: "Just because I don’t like it, doesn’t mean I don’t need it."

While the themes may not have resonated with every viewer, Moffat has previously explained that Boom was "not me making some great meditation on faith".

Speaking to Nerdist at the time of the episode's release, Moffat said: "I don’t have one, but the Doctor is interesting when it comes to faith. Because he’s always, as he was in The Time of Angels with Father Octavian, quite disparaging of it, except he’s got faith in so many things.

"He has faith that there’s order to the universe, that truth and beauty are the same thing, that it will all make sense in the end. He has faith in those things. So when he disparages faith, he’s a complete hypocrite."

Moffat continued: "He’s interesting in that subject. He comes to love Mundy, of course, and he actually respects her faith. I’m worried when people ask [why faith is a part of the episode] that they think I’m disparaging it. I’m not disparaging at all."

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While Boom signalled Moffat's return to the Whoniverse, it's not his last writing stint on the sci-fi series as he's bringing us Joy to the World, which will be landing on our screens this Christmas.

As part of the Doctor Who Day celebrations, further teaser pictures and a promotional image were unveiled, giving a closer look at the drama set to unfold for Gatwa's Doctor and guest star Nicola Coughlan's Joy.

While we don't yet know the exact plot points of Moffat's Christmas special, he did previously say of Russell T Davies approaching him to write it: "The truth is – I absolutely love doing Doctor Who Christmas because I'm a big fan of Christmas, I absolutely adore Christmas."

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

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