Matt Lucas will be appearing in this year’s Doctor Who Christmas Special, it has been revealed today.

The comedian will join Peter Capaldi as The Doctor and Alex Kingston as River Song in the extended episode, which is traditionally broadcast on Christmas Day in the UK and US, and then around the world in the days following.

Also along for the ride is Man Down star Greg Davies as the delightfully named King Hydroflax.

Lucas will be playing a character known as Nardole – and that’s all we know so far!

The pair are the latest comedy legends to make appearances in the show, which has recently played host to Paul Kaye, Rebecca Front and Rhys Shearsmith during the current ninth (or thirty-fifth) series, which continues on Saturday evenings.

This is not Matt’s first foray into Doctor Who – as well as the countless references to the show in seminal sketch show Little Britain – Matt also appeared in the 2001 audio drama The One Doctor. For a full run-down of TVO’s past excursions into the Whoniverse (20 regulars and counting!), check out this post from September. We’ll bring you more news on the Christmas Special when we get it.