Who Are You? 'Doctor Who' Christmas Special Sees Another Familiar Face Return

As both Stephen Moffat and Peter Capaldi prepare to ditch their adventures in space for pastures new, a major era of the BBC's Doctor Who is coming to an end. The seeds have already been planted for the series finale, and some are calling Season 10's "The Doctor Falls" the best Doctor Who episode in years.

In an emotional rollercoaster, #DoctorWho's season finale closed the door to the TARDIS for Bill and Nardole, while preparing #PeterCapaldi to hand over the keys to another era of the Time Lord. Capaldi's tenure as the eccentric Time Lord will officially come to an end in this year's Christmas special, and while we still don't know who will be taking over from him, it sounds like a familiar face will be there to wave the Doctor off.

The Impossible Girl

Sadly, it won't be Alex Kingston back as River Song, but long-term Capaldi companion #JennaColeman looks to be returning for a winter wonderland. Sources close to The Mirror revealed:

“Jenna Coleman has agreed to film something new as Clara. It’s become a tradition now for the companions to reappear as the Doctor regenerates and Jenna isn’t letting the side down.It’ll help to give Peter the send-off he deserves after three years.”

We have already been teased that our current Doctor will be facing his past with William Hartnell's first incarnation (played this time by David Bradley), but we always knew it was never just going to be two old geezers trudging around in the snow.

First introduced as Oswin Oswald in Season 7's "Asylum of the Daleks," the character went on to have complicated (and often tragic) tenure with Matt Smith's eleventh Doctor, and was there to witness his regeneration into Capaldi's Man in the Box. Faced with an unescapable death, Clara "the Impossible Girl" left her traveling companion to somewhat of an open-ended departure. Promising to return to Gallifrey to one day face her death, could Clara also bow out with this version of the Doctor?

The Doctor will see you now.

The return of Clara is nothing too out of the ordinary, with the Beeb's flagship #scifi show usually reuniting a departing Doctor with his most notable companion. If you remember, David Tennant and Billie Piper met again in "The End of Time," while Matt Smith's hipster Doctor saw Karen Gillan's Amy Pond in “The Time of the Doctor." With Clara being one of the most memorable companions since the series rebooted in 2005, it's no surprise to hear she'll be back for the final act.

Last time we saw Clara, the Doctor had saved her from death and she'd sped off in a stolen TARDIS with Maisie Williams in tow as Ashildr. With "The Doctor Falls" seeming to round off the story of Pearl Mackie's Bill, there is a big question mark on whether she will also return for the festive season, or will Bill be left to her happy ending? There may be more than enough room in that little blue box, so there is definitely the opportunity to squeeze more of the ghosts from the Doctor's past in there come December.

With rumors of a huge shake-up coming to the show and bets that Kris Marshall could be ushering in a younger Doctor once more, or that a female version of the Doc could up the show's gender equality stakes, the Christmas special promises to be one to watch. However, if seeing an old man glow for a bit doesn't float your boat, at least it sounds like we will have Clara back for the awww factor.

(Source: The Mirror)