Showrunner Terry Matalas told Collider of the incredible moment: “He’s the perfect character to do it with because he is a Vulcan. And so, an is-he-or-isn’t-he is inherent in how he’s going to portray the character, and there’s something so juicy and delicious about the reveal being a smile for a Vulcan.”

He continued: “And they had a very special relationship, Tuvok and Seven. And I love a Vulcan, and as someone who worked on Voyager back in the day, Tim Russ is just a wonderful human being. So it was just the perfect opportunity for that.”

Read more:

• John Leguizamo: New show The Power is ‘like nothing I’ve ever seen’
• Doctor Who guest star returns in 2023 Christmas special

The perfect moment indeed. Fans on social media couldn’t believe the reveal, with one tweeting: “I need Trek friends. I just yelled TUVOK! at 6am and no one gets it. In fact, I think they’re annoyed cause, ya know, it’s 6am.”

Another added: “TUVOK IN MY STAR TREK PICARD AM I IN HEAVEN.”

Picard season 3 has seen twists and turns as well as life-threatening moments and life-changing revelations, as Sir Patrick Stewart steps back into the role of Jean-Luc Picard.

Stewart previously told Den of Geek of the series and the cameos: “I didn’t want the show to be just sentimental: ‘Oh, we all love one another, and here we are again, playing poker and raising our glasses and so forth.’

“I mean, I love every single one of my comrades from that show. I can’t get enough of them or see enough of them. But what the writers and producers have done with Picard is to create this different individual living in a different world than the one that we had been so familiar with in The Next Generation.”