The new season of the long-running series is being led by Ncuti Gatwa.

Gatwa made his debut at the end of a series of specials that welcomed back former Time Lord star David Tennant.

At the end of the special anniversary episodes, Tennant regenerates into Gatwa.

Some fans were hopeful that Tennant would one day return to the series, but these hopes were crushed after writer and show-runner Russell T Davies confirmed that the star was killed off.

“I think he died,” Russell told The Times.

“I’m going to start saying that. He went to Venice, 2063, when the city sank, and he went into a whirlpool, which is really sad…”

“David is parked and retired, and it’s all Ncuti’s show now. Genuinely. Not that David might be coming back – he’s absolutely not coming back.”

Russell added that he was thrilled to be working with Gatwa as the new Doctor.

“I consider myself to be the luckiest man on earth that in the year that I came along to take over Doctor Who, Ncuti Gatwa was coming to the end of his time on Sex Education. I’m so lucky that happened. It just looks like it was meant to be."

"When you see him in action as the Doctor, he’s just astonishing. I had to have a few words with myself. I thought, ‘You have done a few Doctors now, can you do it again? Are you going to get excited? Are you going to get energised?’

“And then you look at Ncuti doing the role, and it’s like a brand-new playing field. It’s open vistas and new horizons ahead of you. It’s so exciting that it inspires me. It generates stories in me. It’s an absolute joy to work with him.”