Ice Warriors to return to Doctor Who

1 February 2017

The Ice Warriors will return in the next series of 'Doctor Who'.

An Ice Warrior from Doctor Who

The Martian reptilian race - who debuted on the sci-fi drama in 1967 fighting Second Doctor Patrick Troughton - will make an appearance in a forthcoming episode, written by Mark Gatiss, when the programme arrives back on BBC One from April 15.

The exciting news was announced via a video on Twitter on Tuesday (31.01.17) afternoon when Gatiss said of the episode: "Good evening friends, it's time to welcome back some old friends. I'm bringing back some Ice Warriors again, one of my favourite monsters. It's a thrill a minute. A sort of a Bank Holiday Monday feel, the kind of Jules Verne, Edgar Rice, Burroughs story of derring-do, which I've always loved. But it has a new twist. There is a new Ice Warrior in it, a new kind of Ice Warrior."

The adventure will be set on the Ice Warriors' home planet Mars and will see the monsters - who last appeared in a fully-fledged story in 2013's 'Cold War' - battling the Twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi.

Although fans are no doubt excited about the return of some familiar faces, it will be one of the last episodes that Capaldi will appear in as the Time Lord as he announced this week he is leaving the sci-fi series with the 2017 Christmas special being his last outing in the TARDIS.

He said: "I feel it's time to move on. I feel sad, I love Doctor Who, it is a fantastic programme to work on. It can't praise the people I work with more highly, but I have always been someone that did a lot of different things."

Capaldi's exit coincides with showrunner Steven Moffat departing the programme to be replaced by Chris Chibnall - the creator of the ITV crime drama 'Broadchurch' and a frequent writer of 'Doctor Who' episodes.