The BBC has released the first image from the upcoming Doctor Who cartoon.

And here it is.

Titled Dreamland, the six-part story will be available via Red Button and on the BBC’s Doctor Who website (who’ve just put online an introductory video about the project) . The whole thing – clocking up at 45 minutes – will then be screened in its entirety on BBC2 in the autumn, and the BBC HD channel.

Here’s what the Beeb is saying about it…

Written by Phil Ford (Doctor Who, Torchwood, Sarah Jane Adventures) Dreamland will see the Doctor – played by David Tennant – arrive at the infamous alien hot spot, Roswell.

During a visit to a local diner he stumbles upon a mysterious alien artefact that leads him on a mission to rescue Rivesh Mantilax from the threat of the Viperox and the clutches of the American military.

Joining David Tennant will be Georgia Moffett (Doctor Who, Spooks) in the role of Cassie Rice – the Doctor’s new animated companion.

David Warner (Wallander, Hogfather) also stars as the leader of the ruthless Viperox.

In the run up to the animation, fans will be able to visit the Doctor Who website (bbc.co.uk/doctorwho) to follow a behind-the-scenes production blog on the making of Dreamland, giving the opportunity to follow the progress of the animation as it develops.

Dreamland was commissioned by BBC Drama Multiplatform and will be produced for the BBC by Brighton-based animation company Littleloud.

It is being executive produced by Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner and Piers Wenger, with Gary Russell as director.

Russell T Davies said: “Dreamland is a remarkable project and I’m thrilled with it. Phil Ford is a wonderful writer and promises to send the Doctor into a whole new visual dimension.”

Rosie Allimonos, BBC Drama Multiplatform Commissioner, said: “I‘m extremely excited about Dreamland. It presents an amazing opportunity to expand the multiplatform storytelling potential of Doctor Who.

“To offer the ability to watch this brand new Doctor Who animation on so many different BBC platforms is a real treat for our audience.”

Richard Deverell, Controller, BBC Children’s, said: “This is a wonderful addition to the already fantastic portfolio of CBBC programming. Having talent like Russell T Davies and Phil Ford at the helm of this project will no doubt ensure it captures the imagination of CBBC viewers.”

Award-winning channel CBBC also further reinforced its commitment to British animation as it announced that online portal Cartoon Works is expanding to become a new destination to premiere short-form content from the UK animation industry.

CBBC has also commissioned brand new animation Muddle Earth, based on the much-loved children’s books by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell, and Shaun The Sheep returns to screens this Autumn in a series of new exploits.