Doctor Who head writer Steven Moffat has confirmed to Doctor Who Magazine that the series will be back for a ninth run in 2015.

“We’re not going to do splits, and the same format will repeat exactly the following year like that. So it will be the traditional form,” he stated. Since Series 8 is expected to run for 12 episodes and a Christmas special, series 9 should follow suit, although there has yet to be an official confirmation of either from the BBC.

Speaking at the BFI at a preview of the final episode of Sherlock’s third series, producer Sue Vertue confirmed that a fourth run of the updated detective series is definitely happening, with Moffat adding that he and his co-producer Mark Gatiss have “plotted out the whole of series four and five”. Moffat addressed criticisms of the recent episodes, pointing out that the series is about the character, rather than being a detective show.