Doctor Who Christmas special: BBC releases new pictures for Last Christmas

But the question everyone is asking is: what’s the significance of the tangerines?

Fans eager to get another taster for the forthcoming Doctor Who special ‘Last Christmas’ are in for a treat.

The BBC has released new images from the episode to whet viewers’ appetites.

The series of images features Peter Capaldi’s Time Lord in his first proper festive outing and companion Clara Oswald, played by Jenna Coleman.

Capaldi made his Doctor Who debut last year on Christmas Day, taking over the role from Matt Smith.

According to the Scottish actor, the episode will be "one of the scariest ones" on the show but also "one of the happiest".

Although he gave scant details away, Capaldi told Digital Spy, "[The Doctor] has to arrive and save [Clara] from what Santa's going to bring into her life. The Doctor's slightly competitive with other semi-mythical characters!"

There are also pictures of Santa played by Nick Frost and his helper elves played by Misfits star Nathan McMullen and Dan Starkey – who also plays Commander Strax on the show.

Faye Marsay, Maureen Beattie and Coronation Street’s Natalie Gumede make an appearance in the series of pictures. There’s also an image of Michael Troughton’s character – the actor is the son of Doctor Who star Patrick Troughton, who played the second Doctor.

Eagle-eyed people may have spotted the Doctor and Santa holding an orange in a couple of the pictures. Just what their significance is yet unknown but they were mentioned in the brief clip shown on Children in Need last month. The Doctor says to Father Christmas, “Nobody likes tangerines”.

‘Last Christmas’ will see the Doctor and Clara trapped on an Arctic base under attack from monster-like creatures as they call on Father Christmas for help.

There has been speculation that this will be the last episode for Coleman, which has been further fuelled by the title of the episode ‘Last Christmas’. But whether the name is a reference to Wham!’s perennial Christmas heartbreak song of choice is yet to be seen.

Coleman has said that viewers will have to tune in to find out what happens.

The Doctor Who festive special ‘Last Christmas’ will air at 6.15pm on BBC One on Christmas Day.