The Judoon, a race of rhino-headed enforcers, are coming back for Doctor Who Series 12, so how does their creator, Russell T. Davies feel about their return? Well, he seems suitably chuffed, and revealed that they were one of his favourite monsters.

Davies naturally knew in advance, and explains:

“It’s marvellous, because I know about these things before the public because I own the copyright of them, so they have to phone me up and say, ‘Can we bring them back?’ As if I’m going to say no. And I also get a little bit of money for it, which is very nice – not much; it’s the BBC. But I knew that about 6 months ago. Normally lawyers would do it, but [Chris Chibnall, new showrunner] just sent me an email directly, saying, ‘Oi, could we have the Judoon please?’ And I said. ‘Of course you can’.”

The race were created for Smith and Jones and came back for brief appearances in episodes like The Stolen Earth, The Pandorica Opens, and Face the Raven (not to mention The Sarah Jane Adventures). So why is Davies so fond of them? He says:

“There’s something very gloriously daft about them: they wouldn’t fit into Star Trek; they wouldn’t fit into Stargate; and that’s a very good sign of a Doctor Who monster, when they won’t fit into any other show. So I love them, really.”

Their upcoming role will mean they’ve appeared in serials with the Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth, and Thirteenth Doctors. The only other monster that we know can also claim that accolade is the Daleks, one member of which faced Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor in Resolution.

Doctor Who Series 12 will air in early 2020.