What was your Christmas like as a boy? 

Wake up, open presents, go mental for about  four hours, wear and play with said presents, have food, and then watch a Christmas movie  like Mary Poppins, The Goonies. I love Home Alone and the Dudley Moore Santa Claus. And Elf - that's amazing! I will definitely watch  that this year. When I was a kid, there wasn't really anything we'd all watch regularly like Doctor Who, so it was mostly about films.

And now?

The core family is the five of us - me, my mum  and dad, my sister and my grandad. I don't get  to spend much time with my family, so two or three days together is great.

Do you all watch Doctor Who?

I'm afraid so - but my sister usually gabbles on  in the middle of it and my mum and dad will be "ssshhh-ing" her… I like Christmas much more  than New Year, which just isn't as magical. It doesn't have someone crawling down a chimney, for a start. From going for a pint with my mates and family on Christmas Eve to the football on Boxing Day, it's just ace.

What's your favourite comedy to watch at Christmas?

Blackadder II is my favourite series of all time. I'd love to see them do another one. If they do another one  and Richard Curtis is reading this, can I be in it, please? What were your most treasured presents as a child?  I got a mini snooker table that I loved, lots of football-y  things, and I once got a Sega Mega Drive, which I loved. That was pretty epic.

Is it better to give than to receive?

Absolutely! That's another great thing about Christmas: even when you're five, you can save up £1 a month to buy your mum a present.  And it doesn't matter what you give as long as you give it with love. Unless it's your girlfriend.

What's your fail-safe present?

Books make great presents. There's a line I love from The History Boys [in which Smith starred at the National Theatre in 2005] about knowledge and how you should "Pass it on, boys". That's how I feel about great books. My favourite book of poems is Rapture by Carol Ann Duffy and I have given that to many people, having been given it myself by Lindsay Duncan. It's a belter.

Do you think the Doctor likes Christmas?

It's the day you catch him on fire, really.  Although weirdly - and this is what I love about  him as a character - he's quite removed from it.  He'll stand outside the window watching others eat their Christmas dinner and not quite be able  to be part of it and yet, whenever he lands in the middle of it, he goes, "Aaaahhh!" Because it's that great thing about the Doctor: he's able to be the kid without any apology or cynicism.