The second half of Doctor Who’s sixth season kicks off in just under a fortnight, and I went along to the BFI in London last night to get a preview of the next episode, Let’s Kill Hitler.

At the behest of Steven Moffat, the press are generally not revealing anything about the episode. Well, nothing BIG, anyway. But I’ll warn you anyway, the remainder of this article may contain spoilers. If you’re one of those people who is likely to READ an entire article about a FUTURE episode of a TV show and then MOAN INCESSANTLY about spoilers, then PLEASE DO NOT CONTINUE. The biggest spoiler is directly below…

The heroic Doctor and his companions in a classic hero shot

We ran the promo photo for the second half of the season through an advanced computer algorithm known as Photoshop and discovered The Doctor is hiding a minor cross-dressing habit. Once you see the next image, you will NOT be able to look at the poster in the same light again…

...but what's that underneath your longcoat, Doctor?

Ahem. Moving swiftly along…

1. TARDIS. Hijacked. At gunpoint. Seriously, Moffat must have written this well before the London riots, but somehow he’s pre-empted the general lawlessness of the last few weeks for this episode.
2. How many former companions make an appearance in this episode? Several. You’ll have to work out who for yourself…
3. Rory arguably gets the best line of the entire episode.
4. We’re introduced to a childhood friend of Amy’s.
5. More doppelganger madness, but less of the flesh creations and more inspired by this. Oh, and some seriously cool special effects.
6. River Song isn’t the only one who has to go to increasingly desperate lengths to get The Doctor’s attention. When he refuses to answer his phone, Amy and Rory have to get inventive…
7. Expect to see some of the most polite killer robots in the history of sci-fi.

There are – naturally – twists and turns galore in this episode. I found it a bit strange that Moffat was cramming in an episode about Hitler directly after the events at Demon’s Run (where Amy and Rory discovered River was their daughter). However, Let’s Kill Hitler manages to provide a smart, funny episode that continues the Series 6 story arc – and as always, with every piece of new information, new questions will inevitably arise!

I should also say that I’m definitely a Steven Moffat cynic – read my reviews on Shout for proof – but Let’s Kill Hitler is a very satisfying episode of Doctor Who indeed. It’s well-paced, full of the whirlwind of crazy ideas Moffat is synonymous with, but executed with more success than A Good Man Goes To War. There’s an excellent mix of comedy and heavier, more emotional moments, as well as some mind-boggling revelations.

In the past, I’ve had a problem taking the new Doctor Who cast seriously. The chemistry between Amy, Rory and The Doctor never quite convinced me. I think the aftermath of discovering River’s identity at Demon’s Run has changed the dynamic for the better. Amy and Rory are drawn together because they know they have a child together, and The Doctor feels guilty for failing to keep the child safe. You’ll find that this episode is perhaps the strongest in terms of character development since Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill took over the TARDIS console.

August 27th is going to be a brilliant day for Who fans – I can’t wait to watch this one a second time.