There was a lot of promise surrounding the Christmas episode of Doctor Who and when it aired on BBC 1 on Christmas Day it very much lived up to the hype and expectation buzzing around the show and the exit of the Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith. The exit of Smith also meant one other thing, the regeneration of the Doctor into his twelfth form: enter Peter Capaldi.

Doctor Who
The Doctor had business to attend to before he could bow out

The Christmas special - called 'The Time of the Doctor,' in relation to the fiftieth anniversary episode 'The Day of the Doctor' - was full of action and packed in plenty of entertainment in the lead up to Smith's eventual bow out from the show that launched him to stardom. The episode featured Daleks, Time Lords, Cybermen, Weeping Angels, a town called Christmas and more and even Amy Pond (Karen Gillan), the Doctor's former assistant, made an appearance in the show to say farewell the Eleventh Doctor.

Of course it was Capaldi that people wanted to see more than anything else and whilst his appearance was brief and came only at the end of the episode, he still managed to make a considerable impression on the Whovians tuning in on the day. As the Doctor’s iconic bow tie fell to the floor after he had regenerated, out stepped Capaldi from the TARDIS and it instantly seemed as though that none of the Doctor's trademark wit has been replaced along with Smith.

The Day of the Doctor
It was a festive episode, but not one without drama and action

“Just one question,” ask the new Doctor to Clara (Jenna-louise Coleman), as the TARDIS span wildly out of control. “Do you happen to know how to fly this thing?"

The regeneration wasn't quite as emotional as the heart-wrenching farewell to David Tennant's Tenth Doctor, but it still maintained a heavy sense of gravitas and might have brought a few tears to some Whovian's eyes.

We won't get to see whether Capaldi has learnt to control the TARDIS for some time either, with the next season of Doctor Who airing on BBC1 some time in 2014.

Dr Who
The Silents also featured in the episode