Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat says he “slightly fumbled” the launch of last year’s season.

Season 9 continued the previous season‘s line-up of Peter Capaldi as the Doctor and Jenna Coleman as companion Clara Oswald.

The launch trailer concluded with the line: “Same old, same old, just the Doctor and Clara Oswald in the TARDIS.”

It was the first season since the show’s return in 2005 to not have a change or addition to the regular cast. (While Rory had appeared in several episodes of 2010’s Season 5, it was not until 2011’s Season 6 that be became a regular.)

Moffat told DWM in the magazine’s latest issue: “First episodes are tough, and I feel as though I slightly fumbled it last year by not having a ‘new thing’ in ‘The Magician’s Apprentice’.”

He explained: “It was the same Doctor, same companion… You want to persuade people to tune in because a brand new thing is happening.”

The new season of Doctor Who began filming last week and will air on BBC One in spring 2017.

> Here’s everything we know so far about Season 10.

Teasing Season 10’s launch next spring, Moffat said: “We’ll introduce [Bill] in the first episode of 2017, and she’ll run through that series. She’ll not be in Christmas [2016], because that would blow the series launch … So there’ll be somebody else – a different, guest companion – this Christmas, like how River Song played the companion role in last year’s Special.”

> Buy the complete Season 9 box set on DVD on Amazon.

> Buy the complete Season 9 box set on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Peter Capaldi recently revealed his three favourite Doctor Who episodes he’s starred in so far.

Do you prefer to see a cast line-up change every season? Let us know below…