Fan favorite character River Song has been notably absent from Doctor Who since Season 7, but she'll officially be making her return this Christmas.
According to the BBC, Alex Kingston will be returning as River Song in Doctor Who's 2015 Christmas special. This will be her first time working with Peter Capaldi, who portrays the 12th Doctor.
Filming on this upcoming Christmas special begins this week, and the episode is written by the show's executive producer, Steven Moffat. Kingston said she was excited to finally return to Doctor Who after a two year break.
“To be honest, I did not know whether River would ever return to the show, but here she is, back with the Doctor for the Christmas special," Kingston said. "Steven Moffat is on glittering form, giving us an episode filled with humour and surprise guest castings. I met Peter for the first time at Monday’s read through, we had a laugh, and I am now excited and ready to start filming with him and the Doctor Who team. Christmas in September? Why not!”
The BBC notes that the rest of the Christmas special's guest stars will be announced in the coming months.
River Song's most recent appearance on Doctor Who aired back in May 2013, when she made herself visible only to the Doctor and said goodbye. Ever since then, it's been unclear if that was River's sendoff or not, but thankfully it wasn't.
Doctor Who's ninth season will feature some other prominent guest stars including Maisie Williams of Game of Thrones fame. We'll also be seeing more of Michelle Gomez as The Mistress, a female regeneration of The Master.
Doctor Who returns on September 19.
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