It came as a surprise to many Doctor Who fans to learn that the 2010 series was filming at Caerphilly Castle – but as it turned out, the presence of the TARDIS at the historical site is intended to promote The End of Time.

Using the TARDIS in this way is a clever ploy – remind people about the upcoming episodes by playing on their interest in the show’s regular location shoots in and around South Wales.

Earlier this year Doctior Who actors recorded scenes for The End of Time on a location shoot at the castle and now the TARDIS is there to herald the Christmas specials starring David Tennant and Bernard Cribbins.

Martin Cook is the visitor services manager at Caerphilly Tourist Information Centre.

He said: “The Tardis crash-landed Monday evening but we haven’t seen any signs of any Doctor or his assistant.

“There’s a lot of excitement in the town, especially from schoolchildren.”

Meanwhile, John Wallis, Cadw’s site operations manager, said:

“We’re all very excited about the arrival of the Tardis at Caerphilly Castle.

“The Doctor Who crew came to film recently and the castle plays a part in the last couple of episodes.”