Neil Gaiman 'has written Doctor Who episode'

Gaiman is best known for the graphic novel The Sandman

Fantasy writer Neil Gaiman has said he is to write a forthcoming episode of Doctor Who.

Gaiman, the author of Stardust and Coraline which were both adapted for the big screen, revealed the news at a sci-fi convention in Sussex.

The episode, with the working title of The House of Nothing, will air in 2011, the writer said.

Gaiman previously wrote the fantasy TV series Neverwhere which aired on BBC Two in 1996.

During his acceptance speech for best comic at the SFX Awards, Gaiman said: "As anyone who's read my blog knows, I'm a big fan of a certain long-running British TV series. One that I started watching - from behind the sofa - when I was three.

"And while I know it's cruel to make you wait for things, in about 14 months from now - which is to say, not in the upcoming season but early in the one after that - it's quite possible that I might have written an episode.

"And if I had, it would originally have been called 'The House of Nothing'. But it definitely isn't called that any more."

A spokesman for Doctor Who would not confirm Gaiman's announcement.

The next series of the show, starring Matt Smith as the 11th Time Lord, is due to air in the spring.