Doctor Who Showrunner Steven Moffat Recalls Prank Involving A Pregnant Missy

Peter Capaldi isn’t the only one ready to bid adieu to Doctor Who.

Now that the dust is beginning to settle from the series 10 finale, “The Doctor Falls,” one in which Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor encountered an army of Cybermen along with a few familiar faces, series showrunner Steven Moffat (Sherlock) is preparing to hand over the reins to Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall, who will step in to direct the as-yet-mysterious Thirteenth Doctor in 2018.

All in all, Moffat and his team delivered a fitting conclusion, and we know from previous reports that the writer-producer will now team with Sherlock co-creator Mark Gatiss to spearhead a Dracula series at BBC America. But before parting ways with Doctor Who, Steven Moffat and Russell T. Davies almost left Chris Chibnall in quite the pickle.

Though it was always deemed to be innocent “email lunacy,” Moffat and Davies’ practical joke involved leaving series 10 on a cliffhanger, one in which we discover that Missy (Michelle Gomez) is pregnant. It’s a mind-bending scenario that would’ve meant The Master was his/her own parents, which is fairly confusing in and of itself.

While appearing on the Doctor Who aftershow (via Radio Times), Moffat revealed:

He [Davies] is going ‘Oh my god the dialogue! Oh god how brilliant. Oh my god…they’re going to, aren’t they?’ I said Russell, it’s a children’s show… we can’t do that. But we concocted this whole scheme that I’d cliffhanger out of my era on Doctor Who – handing over to Chris [Chibnall] – with Missy telling the Master and the Doctor that she’s pregnant… Over to you Chibs, sort that one out! [laughs]

Following the season 10 finale, Doctor Who fans can now look forward to the 2017 Christmas Special, which will herald the introduction of Doctor number 13 in and around December 25th. Season 11 will then arrive on the BBC in 2018.