Who News: Moffat On Regenerations, Xmas Stars & Images Revealed

Matt Smith's final episode airs in one month's time- find out the first details here!
The next week or so will no doubt be a peculiar time for any self-respecting Doctor Who fan. With the glorious 50th Anniversary Special, The Day of the Doctor (our review of which will be here within the week), now having broadcast to critical acclaim and a spectacular 11.8 million viewers overnight in the UK alone, it's odd to think where exactly the show heads next in stepping towards the bold new storyline Steven Moffat teased at the episode's climax.

While a definitive solution isn't coming anytime soon, for now we can at least look at the new tidbits on the impending 2013 Christmas Special, starting with the promotional image above that teases the return of the Cybermen and more importantly the Silence. This is to be Matt Smith's final episode as the Doctor (for obvious reasons, numbering is becoming irrelevant now- it's one Time Lord with many faces!), and rumour has it that the title will be The Time of the Doctor. Here's a round-up of all the latest news on what's to come:

• STEVEN MOFFAT ON THE REGENERATION LIMIT- Speaking to the Daily Mirror at the show's official Celebration Convention, executive producer Steven Moffat has discussed the Doctor's limit of twelve regenerations. An aspect of Time Lord biology established in 1976's The Deadly Assassin, until now the cap on the number of times the Doctor could change his face had not seemed worrying for the programme's future. All may not be as it seems, however- in the Christmas Special set to air next month, it appears that Matt Smith's Doctor will reveal he is in his 13th body due to the regeneration from John Hurt to Christopher Eccleston's incarnation counting and David Tennant having used up another regeneration in Journey's End, his consistent face not preventing the loss of another renewal. This will mean that the Doctor must face his supposedly inevitable final demise at Trenzalore, and in Moffat's words, "so if the Doctor can never change again, what's Peter Capaldi doing in the Christmas Special?" My take on the matter? Prepare for a big alteration of the series' mythology, culminating with the previously unthinkable- a potentially endless regeneration cycle for the character...
• CHRISTMAS GUEST STAR ANNOUNCED- Digital Spy have today confirmed the first supporting actress in the festive feature-length Doctor Who special episode. Orla Brandy will star as someone from the Doctor's past during Matt's final trip in the TARDIS to Trenzalore, her fate playing a pivotal role in securing that of the Time Lord's. Brandy is best known for her work on Fringe, yet she has also appeared in cult programmes including Sinbad in the past. The Special will deal with key Moffat plot arcs including the notion that "Silence Will Fall", the TARDIS' explosion in The Pandorica Opens, the cracks in space and time and Trenzalore itself!

Doctor Who returns with its 2013 Christmas Special on Christmas Day.