Doctor Who: Alex Kingston is returning, sweeties!

Veteran actress Alex Kingston will return to sci-fi series Doctor Who as River Song for this year's Christmas special. The festive special will begin shooting this week, with Douglas Mackinnon directing from a script by Steven Moffat, reported Metro.

A plot teaser for the untitled hour-long adventure read, "It's Christmas Day in the future and the TARDIS is parked on a snowy village street, covered in icicles, awaiting its next adventure. Time traveller River Song meets her husband's new incarnation, in the form of Peter Capaldi, for the first time this Christmas."

"To be honest, I did not know whether River would ever return to the show, but here she is, back with the Doctor for the Christmas special," said 52-year-old Kingston. "Steven Moffat is on glittering form, giving us an episode filled with humour and surprise guest castings. I met Peter for the first time at Monday's read through, we had a laugh, and I am now excited and ready to start filming with him and the Doctor Who team."

River Song has appeared in 15 Doctor Who episodes to date, most recently 2013's The Name of the Doctor. The character's relationship with the Doctor is complicated by time travel, with the pair meeting up at different points in their personal timelines.