The new series of 'Doctor Who' will reportedly begin on New Year's Day (01.01.20).

Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker

Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker

The eagerly-awaited 12th series of the sci-fi show - which stars Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor - has been being filmed all year and fans will not have to wait much longer to see the programme return as it is set to air on BBC One on the first day of 2020 with a "huge" episode.

A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "It's going to be huge. The scale is just epic. No one will be disappointed."

Another source told the Daily Star newspaper: "It's going to be one of the most exciting starts to a series in the history of the show."

Jodie's second season will begin with a two-part storyline, but the air date means that for a second year running there will be no Christmas Day (25.12.19) special.

The 37-year-old actress - who is the first woman to portray the Time Lord - will be back at the controls of the TARDIS with her co-stars Bradley Walsh, Tosin Cole and Mandip Gill as her companions Graham O'Brien, Ryan Sinclair and Yasmin Khan.

The team's adventures through space and time will run over 10 episodes with the other instalments airing in Doctor Who's traditional Saturday evening teatime slot as opposed to the change to Sunday nights for Series 11.

Although details of the episodes have been kept under wraps by showrunnner Chris Chibnall it is believed that the new run will see the return of classic monsters the Daleks and the Cybermen.