Ever since Jodie Whittaker was first revealed as the new star of Doctor Who, fans have been keen to see her Thirteenth Doctor reunite with River Song, the longtime companion and eventual wife of multiple versions of the Time Lord, played by Alex Kingston on the sci-fi series from 2008 to 2015.

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And now we have a taste of just what their interaction could be like thanks to a chance meeting between Whittaker and Kingston at San Diego Comic-Con, which ended up including the exact kind of back-and-forth we’d imagine for the Whoniverse’s First Ladies.

“We were sort of like passing ships in the night at the Comic-Con," Kingston told RadioTimes.com. "And I just sort of gave her a massive hug and a smooch. And she said 'I love you, I love you!'”

And, channelling her inner River Song, Kingston had the perfect comeback.

“I said well you should do, I'm your wife!” Kingston laughed. “It was a very, very brief moment.”

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Frankly, she makes a good point – a regeneration and change of gender don’t undo marriage vows, Doctor – and Kingston says she’s definitely up for exploring a reconfigured version of River and the Time Lord’s relationship.

“I'm actually cultivating my inner lesbian. Full Method,” she joked.

“Although River isn't really, she's just open to anything.”

In the meantime, though, Kingston has no immediate plans to return to the world of Doctor Who, lending her time to other projects including Sky1's A Discovery of Witches (which soon begins filming for its second series) or new West End play Admissions, in which she plays the leading role.

“It's set within the context of an elite boarding school in New Hampshire,” Kingston told us.

“It surrounds two families. One family, the father is the head of the school and the mother is the admissions officer. And they have a son.

“The other family, the father is an English teacher at the school, the mother is a housewife, but she's very involved in all of the school's activities. They have a biracial son. And the two women are best friends.

“And these two boys have grown up from kindergarten in this school setting, and they have both applied to Yale. And the play basically starts on the day that these boys are getting their admissions results.

“I'm absolutely convinced that even though this is an American play, set very firmly in America, a British audience will absolutely relate to it,” she added.

“Because the themes and what we're going through in this country in terms of diversity and education are exactly the same.”

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Admissions, starring Alex Kingston and Sarah Hadland, begins its run at the Trafalgar Studios in London from 28th February

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