Doctor Who: Jodie Whittaker to face an army of Cybermen in “epic” two-part finale

"It's probably one of the most epic space opera stories we've done,” Chibnall told the Mirror, adding that actor Julie Graham (Shetland) would guest star as an "all-action hero".

"It's as epic and emotional as the opening two-parter. I know it takes place across a big distance from space, there's fantastic spaceships, there's Cybermen."

In the series’ fifth episode (Fugitive of the Judoon), John Barrowman’s Captain Jack Harkness left an ominous warning that the Doctor should beware something called ‘The Lone Cyberman,’ hinting that this mysterious figure could end up bringing back the cyborg empire in all its glory.

And based on Chibnall’s comments it seems that this prophecy will come to pass in an episode later this series, with a single Cyberman’s actions bringing the entire species back to life.

"It might start with one Cyberman, but you'll see a lot,” he said.

"It's a big, big, Cyberman story, that last two-parter. There are a lot of Cybermen coming in this series."

But will the Cybermen be the only threat in the finale? Fans are already wondering whether Sacha Dhawan’s evil Master will also return for the story after his smash-hit debut in the series’ opening story, while surprise new Doctor Jo Martin will also presumably have to make a comeback before the series is concluded.

And who knows? If this finale is anything like this series’ buzzy fifth episode (which announced the return of the Judoon but hid the involvement of Barrowman’s Captain Jack or Martin’s new Doctor) it could be that the Cybermen are just a red (or silver) herring for something even more exciting. Watch this space (and time).

Doctor Who airs on BBC One at 7:10pm on Sundays