‘Wait a minute, do you mean this is the genesis of the Daleks?’ David Tennant’s return to the role of Doctor Who begins, fittingly, with a Children In Need special, just like 2005. “Just like 2005” (well, “2008”) might be the tag-line for the upcoming 60th Anniversary Specials, a reminder of the peak of the 21st Century show’s public popularity with its most iconic Doctor/companion pairing.

But before we get there, we have this amusing sketch: a pre-catastrophe Davros (I like to think the damage caused by the malfunctioning TARDIS leads to his devastating accident moments after the cut to the ‘Doctor Who Returns November 25th’ caption), played by Julian Bleach, just like, of course, 2008. The TARDIS is literally crashing into the history of the show, and the Doctor provides his archenemies with both their name and their catchphrase.

There’s more, though: hints of the themes coming up in the Specials. Though he looks and acts the same, this is not the 10th Doctor but a new man thoroughly baffled by his old face. And we’re told ‘The timelines in the canon are rupturing’, promising perhaps more unsettling events to come. It’s a slighter piece of work than the 2005 Children In Need episode, playing more like one of the Series Six teasers, but does its job of trailing the upcoming episodes in a fun way.

Next Time: The Star Beast