You see, the Time Lord isn’t supposed to get too close to his companions. Even with the unrequited love of Martha Jones, the innocence of his “friendship” with Rose Tyler and even from the good old days of Sarah Jane, he never got too close.

But, as has become the tradition of the BBC in recent years, fans of Doctor Who got to see the doctor get a kiss from a pop star.

The sight of Kylie Minogue getting lucky with David Tennant’s 900-year-old time traveller drew in 12.2 million people – half the TV audience.

That was well up on the 8.7 million viewers who switched on last year to watch BBC Wales-made Catherine Tate’s festive Doctor Who turn as The Christmas Bride.

 Voyage of the Damned (beware of spoilers at this link) came in second to a holiday special of the EastEnders. The BBC plans to show the special several times throughout the next couple of weeks.

The viral campaign is especially impressive as has been the internet presence of the special. Kylie Minogue is beloved in the UK and most likely helped boost the ratings by millions for the BBC.

Minogue was a one-shot companion. It’s been reported that Catherine Tate will return as will Freema Agyeman and Billie Piper for a three-episode shot during the upcoming season.

As for the rules of Doctor Who, Russell T. Davies is stretching them, although I don’t believe they’ve been broken.  He has kept it interesting.

Apparently 12 million watchers in the U.K. think so.

But Ms. Jones is expected to be back.

Doctor Who is keeping it fresh for fans to say the least.

The Rose connection with Doctor Who is an interesting one with the much of the WhoInVerse fanbase. Since Piper’s departure in the summer of 2006, Tennant’s Doctor Who, according to some fans and Wikipedia, has been one of the only doctors to “pine” for a companion which is also mentioned in the follow-up episode in the “The Runaway Bride“. Piper was also popular in her tenure on the show with the Ninth Doctor, Christopher Eccleston but the relationship seemed to reach new dimensions with Tennant’s version of the Tenth Doctor.

Earlier this month, Chris reported that Lily Allen was in talks to replace Catherine Tate once the veteran comedian left the world of the Tardis.

As Doctor Who also brings in the Christmas spirit in the last few years with a bit of vim and vinegar, our friends on the Tardis will make a trip to the Titanic with special guest Kylie Minogue in an episode called “Voyage of the Damned.”

But with Piper’s popular Rose possibly returning, this could cause a bit of trouble, and heartache, for Doctor Who.

The best we can do is here at Teevieo is to say “stay tuned.”

Doctor Who is scheduled to return in March for a 13-series season.

To titillate you a bit until the next season, head here to see a wonderful video where Doctor Five and Doctor Ten meet up in an awesome meeting on the Tardis for the charity Children in Need.

And rumor has it that Tom Cruise is in talks to star in an arc in the series.

Doctor Who does keep it popping.

The Dr. Who production team are is currently in talks with chav queen Lily Allen to replace popular comedian Catherine Tate as the Doc’s (always doomed) assistant. If she got the role, multi-talented Lily would find herself in one of the most high-profile female roles on British TV.

The Doc’s original assistant (since the show’s reincarnation that is) was played by Billie Piper, a formerly chavy pop singer from Swindon and it looks as though the same story is about to come true for Lily. Lily’s had a pretty good run of it lately, having a show handed to her by the BBC and launching her own delightfully shabby fashion brand, so it seems good luck really does come in three’s.