Doctor Who originally planned Wilf "passing" following loss of Bernard Cribbins

The scene had been filmed before Cribbins's death and he was due to appear in further scenes before the actor's passing.

In The Giggle, it was revealed that Wilf was taken to safety by UNIT at the request of his granddaughter Donna Noble (Catherine Tate).

Now, speaking on the in-vision commentary for The Giggle, Russell T Davies has revealed: "I actually wrote a version in which [the Doctor] discussed his passing.

"It was immensely sad, it was beautiful, and it was very much a reaction to what had literally just happened, 'cause it felt very, very strange so I felt like we had to acknowledge it.

"You can imagine how, tonally, it fitted into this – remembering the past and coming to terms with those we’ve lost…

"And then Phil, my learned friend Phil Collinson, just went 'Are you mad? Of course, he’s alive off-camera, of course, he’s still here, he’s alive forever – around the corner.' And I just went, 'You’re so right'."

This late interjection from Phil Collinson meant that Wilfred had a last-minute reprieve.

"We’d kind of signed off on it almost," noted Davies, "and [Phil] just went, stop stop stop! Now Bernard’s forever."

Fans were even treated to a late mention of a flourishing Wilfred during the conclusion of the episode during a dinner scene featuring the Fourteenth Doctor, Mel Bush (Bonnie Langford), and the Noble-Temple family.

"He's off shooting moles," said Sylvia, explaining Wilf's absence.

The Doctor noted that the moles were safe, however, having given them force fields.

We can rest easy that Wilfred is off having his adventures with the Fourteenth Doctor keeping an eye on him.

Read More

• Doctor Who fans emotional over The Giggle as David Tennant bows out
• Doctor Who bigeneration “bigger than you think”, creates a “Doctorverse”

Doctor Who will return for The Church on Ruby Road on BBC One at 5:55pm on Christmas Day.

Previous episodes are available on BBC iPlayer and on BritBox – you can sign up for a 7-day free trial here.

Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on.

Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10 – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.