With Doctor Who currently enjoying the break between Christmas Special and new series, there’s not much else to do turn our attention to the filming of said series; and with a new Doctor at the helm, the gaze is only intensified.

Peter Capaldi and Jenna ColemanPeter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman on the set of Doctor Who in Cardiff

And it’s with this intensified gaze that we happen upon Peter Capaldi riding a mechanical horse in his pyjamas – a sight that, if we’d witnessed during his Thick of It days, may have been disconcerting.

In the context of Doctor Who, it’s rather mundane. Capaldi took some time to speak with fans, pose for photographs and sign autographs. He was also required to ride a real horse, as well as a mechanical one, but his stunt double soon stepped in because he’s "afraid of the horse and the horse knows it".

There’s been no official work on when the new series will air, but previous ones have kicked off in the summer time – usually August – so it’ll likely debut then. Fans of the franchise are eagerly waiting a lengthier look at their new Doctor after he debuted in the Christmas Special.

“I was five when the show started. I don’t remember Doctor Who not being part of my life, and it became a part of growing up, along with The Beatles, National Health spectacles, and fog. And it runs deep. It’s in my DNA.”

Showrunner Steven Moffat recently revealed that both the eight and the ninth seasons will air in single runs of 13 episodes. "We're not going to do splits [in series eight]," the boss told Doctor Who magazine. "And the same format will repeat exactly the following year like that - so it will be the traditional form."