The Doctor Who 50th anniversary special episode confirmed yesterday will feature “lots of aliens and Daleks”, the head of BBC Drama Ben Stephenson has suggested.

The anticipated adventure will commemorate half a century of the iconic Time Lord on the BBC. It will even be screened in cinemas in 3D as part of the “blockbuster” celebrations.

“There will be lots of aliens and Daleks and things like that – or maybe there won’t,” he tantalisingly teased.

He cryptically continued: “There’s many different things to take into account. We’ll also have a Christmas special after that and it all connects. Or maybe it doesn’t. There is lots to work out. How do we make individual programmes more than the sum of their parts?”

He explained that the BBC is aware of the pressure to get the episode right. “99% of the British public know about Doctor Who and so have a personal connection to it,” he said. “It’s drawing on the nostalgia to say something bigger – a nationwide celebration of both Doctor Who and the BBC. They’re synonymous. It’s exciting and feels very innovative.”

Steven Moffat has said he will “build for the future” by introducing new foes in 2013.

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