Doctor Who fans are headed towards a very dark day in the near future, with current series lead Peter Capaldi (who’s played the Doctor since 2013) set to leave the series this December after announcing his departure earlier in the year.

And apparently the sense of nostalgia and sadness surrounding his exit isn’t limited to viewers of the show, with series 10 guest star Samantha Spiro recently lifting the lid on the slightly sombre mood on set for Capaldi’s last scenes in series 10 (prior to his proper final episode this Christmas).

“I do think you could really sense that on set,” Spiro, who plays a character called Hazran in this Saturday’s series finale, told RadioTimes.com. “And it’s funny going in when the whole crew’s been working on it for many years, and coming to the end of Peter’s time, because there’s a great camaraderie on set, they are a really fantastic crew.

“I think it really did add, not just in the scenes that were very emotional but there is a sense of it throughout, and I couldn’t help but get swept up with that really because its the end of a really fabulous era.

“Three years for Peter, but ten years for some of the crew who probably won’t be moving on now because there’s a whole new production.”

She added: “Because this is the final episode there’s some really fantastic epic pieces that Peter deals with as the Doctor in this episode that I found really quite a privilege to witness, it really took my breath away.  I think he’s brilliant.”

Fingers and toes crossed that that means we can expect the start of a great send-off for a much-loved Doctor this Saturday, then. Might take the edge off the whole thing.

Doctor Who continues on BBC1 this Saturday 1^st July

Steven Moffat introduces the final episode of the series – it’s never been more deadly than this!

The penultimate episode of Doctor Who series 10 came bundled with all sorts of surprises, from John Simm returning as the Master after spending an episode in disguise and Missy apparently rejoining the forces of evil, all the way to companion Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie) being forcibly converted into Cyberman form.

And it seems like the twists are only set to continue in this Saturday’s finale, with series 10 finale guest star Samantha Spiro (who plays a woman called Hazran defending children from the Cybermen) hinting to RadioTimes.com that nothing is as it seems in the last episode.

“What little hint can I give?” Spiro pondered when asked for clues about 12th episode The Doctor Falls. “Nobody is as you think they are – or people aren’t necessarily what they think they are.”

But what could this mean? Could we have more surprise returns in the same realm as John Simm’s Master, perhaps with classic characters disguised as new faces (following on from hints that River Song or the Doctor’s granddaughter Susan could be back this year)?

Or does the quote refer to Michelle Gomez’ tormented Missy, who seems to have turned back to the dark side? With the Doctor still hoping to redeem her, perhaps she’s not as bad as she thinks she has to be after all…

Or maybe it’s something else entirely, related to the character of Peter Capaldi’s Doctor as he’s pushed to the edge by the terrible situation he finds himself in. Could he be about to make a decision that will surprise anyone who thinks they have the measure of him by this point?

Whatever the truth, we’re excited to see the whole thing unfold – and according to Spiro, the finished episode is well worth the anticipation.

“Because this is the final episode there’s some fantastic epic pieces that Peter deals with as the Doctor,” she told RadioTimes.com, “that I found really quite a privilege to witness; it really took my breath away.

“I think he’s brilliant,” she added. So do we…

Doctor Who series 10 concludes on BBC1 on Saturday 1st July 

When it was first announced that actress Samantha Spiro was to appear in Doctor Who, there was a lot of excitement over who exactly she could be playing.

Could she be starring as an older version of Susan, the Doctor’s granddaughter from the original series? Could she even be the next incarnation of the Doctor, set to take over from Peter Capaldi this Christmas?

But now the truth is out, and having spoken to Spiro, RadioTimes.com can confirm that she’s playing neither of those powerful Time Lords – instead, she’s playing a rather different new character for series 10 finale The Doctor Falls named Hazran.

“As far as she’s concerned she lives on a farm, and it’s a very beautiful rural setting,” Spiro told RadioTimes.com.

“The farmhouse where they live, she is protecting and looking after quite a few children, and there are adults who work the land as well. It’s fairly idyllic, usually, but where we catch her and their life they are under attack from the Cybermen – so thing’s aren’t great currently for Hazran.

“She’s the sort of person who’s trying to hold it all together and probably wouldn’t be successful if it wasn’t for a bit of help that we get from the Doctor.”

Based on previous episode World Enough and Time, this description would suggest that Hazran and her charges are citizens of the time-slowed colony spaceship first seen in the penultimate episode, who come under attack when the Mondasian Cybermen begin converting the entire populace.

Spiro’s character can actually be glimpsed in the trailer (above) for the finale fighting off the Cybermen with a gun, in scenes that she says were “really good fun” to film and that suggests not all the humans will be going quietly into their new Cyber-lives. Hooray!

Of course, for some fans Spiro’s character reveal will be a little less exciting than the idea that she’s an iconic Time Lord in disguise, but the actor says she has no hard feelings about the media speculation surrounding her role.

“It was after I’d already finished filming it so I knew I wasn’t going to be the next Doctor,” she laughed.

“It’s always fun when there’s speculation like that, and because nobody knows who the next Doctor is at the moment, you let people run with these things – so it’s all good fun!”

She added: “It was brilliant for someone like me who probably didn’t think they’d be doing much more of this kind of stuff to be there with a gun shooting Cybermen – lovely!”

Doctor Who series 10 concludes on BBC1 this Saturday 1st July

Doctor Who – The Eaters of Light had an official rating of 4.73 million viewers.

The episode was the 26th most watched programme of the week, and the 11th highest rated programme on the BBC.

For the second week running, Doctor Who was the highest rated programme on Saturday, overtaking Casualty which was ahead in the initial overnight figures.

Top for the week was Coronation Street with 7.86 million watching. The BBC’s highest rated programme was EastEnders with 6.6 million.