I have received a very impressive review of Inside Out on the Dr Who Online website. I especially appreciated being compared to Russell T Davies, so I was generally feeling pleased. But it also got me thinking about Dr Who. I am so very ancient that I remember seeing the first episode, with William Hartnell in 492BC (I think something major happened, the day before). I regarded Dr Who as a definite improvement on Pinky and Perky (if you don’t know it, don’t ask): entertaining, interesting, unexpected and, I guessed, slightly educational. And then the Daleks arrived on the scene and it became an absolutely not to be missed weekly Appointment with Fear! A delicious experience of terror that I watched with my hands over my face, if not actually from behind the sofa.

It was and is a programme that continues to raise thought-provoking issues of major importance…