Doctor Who: Hornets’ Nest by Paul Mars

Good news everyone – he’s back! Tom Baker in a NEW Doctor Who story! Mike Yates (Richard Franklin) of UNIT returns to be re-united with ‘the living ghost’ the best Doctor ever! AND – even better news for our American friends – it’s on the radio. The first episode broadcast was 13th December, and the five-parter will be available on the BBC Radio 4 Extra iPlayer.

In deepest Sussex Yates encounters his old friend after answering a mysterious advertisement. Radio allows us to believe that Baker is, as the characters assert, exactly as he was in the 1970s. When his voice sets up the episode and the old theme tune kicks in, I felt transported! Talk about time travel.

The first episode sets things up very well and both actors carry things off with a sense of great melodramatic splendour. It is a cross between sci-fi and Victorian ghost stories – the best combination for Christmas.

RATING 10 / 10