Douglas Mackinnon has been revealed as the director of this year’s Doctor Who Christmas special.

The online CV of Director of Photography Suzie Lavelle confirms the news.

Mackinnon directed the upcoming one-off Sherlock Christmas special earlier this year and has previously directed seven episodes of Doctor Who, including ‘Flatline’, ‘Time Heist’, ‘Listen’, ‘Cold War’, ‘The Power of Three’, ‘The Poison Sky’ and ‘The Sontaran Stratagem’.

Written by showrunner Steven Moffat, the episode’s read-through took place on Monday and filming begins this week.

Guest cast have not yet been confirmed, but Season 9 finale director Rachel Talalay has teased on Twitter: “Guest cast (and cast-cast) for next #DoctorWho episode gave me feels.”

It is also unknown if Jenna Coleman will be returning as Clara. Coleman is currently abroad according to her Instagram account, suggesting that she is not involved in the Christmas special.

The actress also posted a photo with the text “I never finish anyth…” yesterday; could this be a cryptic hint about her departure?

Steven Moffat has discussed the task of finding his replacement as Doctor Who showrunner this week.

> Buy Season 8 on DVD on Amazon.

> Buy Season 8 on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Season 9 has been filming in Cardiff since January and begins on Saturday 19 September on BBC One.

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

What do you want to see in this year’s Christmas special? Let us know below…