Former showrunner and writer of this year’s Christmas special, Steven Moffat, has promised an answer to the biggest question in Doctor Who, and indeed “the universe as a whole”… but we don’t know what that question is. And we reckon his tongue is firmly in cheek.

In the latest issue of the Radio Times, Moffat says:

“This year, the Doctor will tell you the answer to that question you’ve been asking since you were a small child. The solution to the longest-standing mystery in not merely the Doctor Who universe, but the universe as a whole. Watch on Christmas Day!”

He’s referring to Joy to the World, which is due to air on 25th December.

But what is the question? The next issue of Doctor Who Magazine might tell us… although if so, Moffat is simply being sarcastic. Because that DWM features Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor reading a newspaper that says “Duck Pond Mystery Solved” and further teases:

“In an astonishing turn of events, what was once thought to be an ordinary duck pond in a quiet corner of Leadworth, has turned out to be an extraordinary time portal to the year 1973.”

What’s this about then? It refers to The Eleventh Hour, the glorious debut episode of Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor, which indeed showed a duck pond with no ducks.

Originally, the Series 5 finale, The Big Bang, was to show the TARDIS dematerialising, with the ducks once more in the pond, implying they were snatched away by the crack in time, but returned when the universe was restored. That had to be scrapped as they changed the location of the TARDIS, moving it to the back garden of Amy Pond’s house.

Could Joy to the World rewrite this scrapped scene? Or are they completely unrelated and we’re clutching at straws? Either is entirely possible.

But heck, the newspaper also reads “Prisoner Zero Found Innocent: Trial of the century at the Icelandic Alliance”, and we are very happy to see references to the much-loved 2010 season in 2024. So whatever happens, we’re happy.

Let’s wait until Christmas Day to find out…