Rumours abound once more that Doctor Who fans will get to enjoy a new episode of the show before Series 12 airs in 2020. This time, it’s from the Radio Times, surely a good indicator that things are moving behind the scenes, though this is not necessarily a certainty.

The TV and radio listings website posits that a standalone serial will bridge the gap between Resolution and Series 12. Unlike previous speculation, though, the Radio Times questions whether such an episode would air around the festivities:

“However, it’s also possible that the proposed episode will bypass the festive period altogether, airing in a less competitive slot to give the Tardis [sic] team their best reintroduction this winter, and avoiding the usual holiday themes favoured by previous Doctor Who specials.”

This would tie into the apparent reluctance of showrunner, Chris Chibnall to deliver a Christmas-themed episode. The previous special, Resolution, barely made reference to its scheduling (seemingly the only episode of Doctor Who to air in 2019, albeit on New Year’s Day) – not that typical Doctor Who does anyway, but festive specials often do.

Okay, so what evidence is there that another episode will make a surprise appearance this year?

Well… there’s none. It’s all pure speculation right now, although we dare say the Radio Times does have some insider knowledge a fan-run site like the DWC isn’t privy to. They go on to say:

“[T]he BBC are remaining tight-lipped about all aspects of the upcoming episodes, and declined to comment for this story.”

And that’s not the greatest shock in history, eh? (That would be Earthshock.)

It does seem that there is an eagerness to get Doctor Who back on screens as soon as possible, however. This isn’t the first time such an idea has been mooted, and we do wonder if this has something to do with the BBC seemingly confirming that Series 12 would air in 2019 – before apparently delaying it until “early 2020”.

But despite the absolute dearth of news, you’d think that something would’ve leaked by now. We already know the directors working on Series 12, but no filming has happened – at least to our knowledge – on an additional story. We also wonder whether the BBC is piling on pressure for more from Chibnall and both parties are digging in their heels.

Sorry folks, but we’ll just have to wait and see…