The Doctor and her companions will be facing an ancient evil that has been secretly on Earth for centuries in next month's Doctor Who New Year's Special.

The first trailer for the holiday special has debuted ahead of this week's Season 11 finale, with Jodie Whittaker's eponymous Time Lord regrouping with her companions to brief them on the uncovered danger threatening the entire planet.

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"It's been buried on Earth since the ninth century," explains the Doctor. "It's not going to stop until it's taken over this whole planet. It's gonna kill anyone that gets in its path."

While remaining nameless for now, the trailer flashes back to the evil's initial imprisonment by Vikings during the Dark Ages before moving to relative present day with explosive results. The upcoming New Year's special replaces the traditional Christmas special episode that would star the Doctor since the longrunning sci-fi series revival in 2005.

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Doctor Who's first New Years special will premiere on January 1 at 8 PM on BBC America. Jodie Whittaker's Doctor will be joined by co-stars Bradley Walsh, Tosin Cole, Mandip Gill in a season spearheaded by new series showrunner, Chris Chibnall.