Since the departure of Matt Smith in 2013, Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat has appeared keen to establish the stories of Peter Capaldi’s Doctor as a new era.

Although the Paternoster Gang appeared in ‘Deep Breath’ and the new UNIT gang introduced in the Eleventh Doctor’s era returned in ‘Death in Heaven’, fandom seems divided when it concerns the return of one particular character; the Doctor’s wife herself, Professor River Song.

As many people have pointed out, there are a good number of reasons to see River revisit the show and the main one seems to be that people want to see how she would interact with Capaldi’s Doctor.

Even ex-showrunner Russell T Davies wants to see them on screen together, describing the pairing as a potential “sex storm”.

Steven Moffat had openly revealed that he “hasn’t ruled out” her return and Alex Kingston let crowds at a Q&A panel a while back know she hasn’t been told River is finished.

Most of the people in question seem to be in favour of at least one more appearance. It’s not only the Twelfth Doctor that we’d love to see meet – Alex Kingston and John Barrowman have been practically begging to have their characters in an episode together.

However, fans also seem intrigued by the rocky, slightly awkward meeting of River and Clara Oswald in ‘The Name of the Doctor’. River didn’t seem overly impressed by how little her other half had spoken of her to Clara, so it is yet to be seen if this would have an influence on the possible friendship between the pair.

Would the pair fall out like Rose and Sarah Jane in ‘School Reunion’ or bond over their time spent with the Doctor like Donna and Martha in Season 4?

On top of that, there are many things we haven’t seen happen yet. When did the Doctor and River go to Asgard? Where’s the screwdriver we saw in The Library? Shouldn’t River have encountered more than just two incarnations of the Time Lord? These are all questions many fans want answers to.

There are, of course, the obvious reasons some fans want to see her return, such as the “Mighty, Mighty Kinglets” who will back all of Alex Kingston’s characters to the bitter end (I mean, did you see them battling for BBC America’s fan favourites?).

However, there is another side to this debate. There are a large number of other fans who would rather that ‘The Name of the Doctor’ was left as the final chapter of River Song’s tale.

The biggest issue for most people who want her to leave is that they feel her story arc is essentially complete. ‘The Wedding of River Song’ wrapped up her main and her most recent appearance at the end of Season 7 offered a lovely sense of closure for both characters.

Would a return undo this or result in the character becoming a bit stale?

Also, some corners of fandom simply never liked the relationship between River and the Doctor, feeling the dynamic strayed too far from the standards set by classic Who. After nearly a thousand years of time travel, what made her so special? Did the Doctor’s kiss with Clara in ‘The Snowmen’ make our hero a cheat?

Yesterday we learned that River Song will indeed be returning, in this year’s Christmas special, while we also have Big Finish’s new audio adventures to look forward to!

What will River have in store for the Doctor upon her return? Only time will tell!

Are you for or against River Song’s return? Let us know below…

Written by Lauren Kennedy.