This is nothing short of brilliant on two counts. Well, probably more than two, but that’s all I can think of at present. First, the fact that Matt Lucas is returning to Doctor Who and, two, no one EVER gets to see anything other than maybe a few stills taken during production of Doctor Who. EVER!

Those in front of and behind the camera tend to be on more of a short leash lockdown than anyone ever associated with Downton Abbey could have ever imagined. I guess being under the ever-present watchful eye of Doctor Who show runner Steven Moffat is way more threatening than having Sir Julian Fellowes to answer to by the likes of the Downton Abbey cast and crew.

Lucas, who played Nardole in episode “The Husbands of River Song”, is back and he’s so excited he’s been vlogging (if that’s really a word) from behind the scenes on the set of Doctor Who 10 which began film last week. “I’m ecstatic because it’s my first day back on Doctor Who,” Lucas said rather ecstatically to camera. “Originally I was just in the Christmas special and now I find myself returning for more adventures. I’m very excited. We’re here on location today… we’re at Cardiff University doing some running around,” he added, joking: “Maybe I’ll lose some weight. My mother would be very happy!”

The only issue to be resolved between now and Christmas is just how exactly does Lucas’ character Nardole ‘return for more adventures’. You might recall that Nardole, a future human, had his head removed by the wicked King Hydroflax in Doctor Who‘s 2015 Christmas special. Just remember that ‘death’ doesn’t mean very much when it comes to Doctor Who. I’m sure they’ll find a way.

While there have been a couple of the obligatory production stills from the set showing Peter Capaldi interacting with new companion, Pearl Mackie, a.k.a. Bill, this is one of the first ‘official’ videos from the set of Doctor Who during production that I’ve run across in some time. Up until now, about the best you get is a random fan vid that is a bit shaky with very sketchy audio so this piece from Lucas, the co-creator/writer of Little Britain with David Walliams, is brilliant and, hopefully, the first of many updates to come.

Doctor Who will return for a Christmas special this year with series 10 airing in 2017.