In what’s fast becoming a Christmas tradition for families up and down the UK, the Doctor Who Christmas Special will once again be landing on BBC TV screens, and it seems like the broadcasting company are fully aware of its popular status, with first a new trailer and now poster making the production values of the forthcoming episodes look like something out of a Hollywood blockbuster.

The Daily Mail reports that the promotional poster shows the Time Lord, played again by Matt Smith, clinging on to a ladder, held on to in turn by his new assistant Clara, played by Jenna-louise Coleman. The pair look like they’re trying to climb the ladder in order to reach a sky-bound Tardis, whilst snowflakes fall around them to London below – Big Ben sticking out of the murk. This year the enemy that the Doctor must overcome is played by Richard E. Grant; as Dr. Simeon, he commands an army of vicious snowmen to do his bidding.

Normally cocksure and plucky as the Doctor, Smith’s character will have a somewhat different demeanor this time round, given that previous assistant Amy Pond was lost to him at the end of the last series. As executive producer Steven Moffat explained in a previous statement, "The Doctor at Christmas is one of my favorite things -- but this year it's different. He's lost Amy and Rory to the Weeping Angels, and he's not in a good place: in fact, he's Scrooge. He's withdrawn from the world and no longer cares what happens to it. So when all of humanity hangs in the balance, can anyone persuade a tired and heartbroken Doctor that it's time to return to the good fight. Enter Jenna-Louise Coleman..."