Peter Capaldi loved Batman as a child.

Peter Capaldi

Peter Capaldi

The 58-year-old actor joins forces with a masked Superhero in the eagerly-awaited 'Doctor Who' Christmas special, and ahead of its broadcast on December 25, Peter has revealed his long-time admiration for the iconic cape crusader.

Speaking during a Twitter Q and A with fans, he said: "My favourite superhero growing up, apart from Doctor Who, was Batman, because when I was a kid, the Adam West Batman series started and we loved it.

"Although we had to be warned not to do any superhuman activities because there was a terrible spate of kids thinking they were superhuman. Kids, you're not superhuman. I am, but you're not."

The one-off, 60-minute episode also features Matt Lucas, Justin Chatwin, Charity Wakefield, Tomiwa Edun, Aleksandar Jovanovic and Logan Huffman.

But Peter remained tight-lipped about the episode, which is set in New York City.

Asked to describe the Christmas special in three words, the sci-fi star said: "I would describe the Christmas special as very, very Christmassy in three words. That's two words, isn't it? Very, very bloomin' Christmassy. Very, very exceedingly Christmassy. Very 'Doctor Who-ey' ... although 'Doctor Who-ey' is a bit Christmassy in the first place, don't you think?

"What would Christmas be like in the Tardis? Christmas Day with the doors closed..."

Peter also opened up on his ideal Christmas, revealing that his favourite festive-themed tune is 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas' by Frank Sinatra.

He shared: "My favourite Christmas song is 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas', because within the context in the film it appears in, 'Meet Me in St. Louis', it is also a very sad song.

"For me, Christmas can be both happy and sad - and song that perfectly encapsulates that is 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas'."