Steven Moffat has discussed why he’s chosen to increase the number of two-part stories in the new season of Doctor Who.

Season 9’s opening two-parter, ‘The Magician’s Apprentice’ and ‘The Witch’s Familiar’, is currently filming, with some scenes shot in Tenerife last week.

Episodes 3 and 4, a two-part story written by Toby Whithouse (Being Human), were filmed earlier this year.

Speaking to Doctor Who Magazine in Issue 484, out now, Moffat revealed: “We’re changing the rhythm of [Doctor Who] quite a bit. For a long while, those 45-minute stories were the backbone of Doctor Who. They felt new and fresh and different. It just started to feel to me, that as a member of the audience, you were getting too acquainted with the rhythm of it. You sort of think, ‘Well, now it’s about time for the music to come up.’”

He explained: “Writing the first two-parter that I had done in years [Season 9’s finale, ‘Dark Water’ and ‘Death in Heaven’] I just thought, I’m liking this. This feels more unpredictable.’ Because you don’t know how far you’re going to get through the story…”

Moffat added: “The rule I’ve got is that you won’t be absolutely certain whether a show is going to be a two-parter or not. And sometimes something that looks like it’s going to be a single, isn’t a single. I think the nice thing is not having the feeling of, ‘It’s five minutes until the end of Doctor Who, so he’s bound to start running now.’ With each of the two-parters we’re doing, there’s a substantial difference between the two halves.”

Season 9 began filming in Cardiff in January and will air on BBC One this autumn.

> Here’s everything we know about Season 9 so far.

Do you prefer two-part stories in Doctor Who? Let us know below…