On holiday in Rome, the Doctor and Leela encounter a Tivolian who’s the subject of a classic case of mistaken identity.

The Tivolians didn’t come across as one of the strongest elements even of the first story that they were in – The God Complex – and Robert Valentine has his work cut out here to make a story about them engaging. He succeeds – partly by giving us members of the race who might not conform to the norm, but mainly by using some classic Hitchcockian tropes (as you might have guessed from the title). Some of the beats are precisely as you’d expect – including the very final scene – while others play with expectations cleverly.

It’s always fun to hear Tom Baker in the Doctor under pressure mode – which comes across vocally slightly differently nowadays – and Louise Jameson’s Leela is suitably annoyed, and then praising as the story progresses. Robert Daws does a nice job as the classic Innocent Abroad Who’s Caught Up In Something Bigger Than Him, as does Anthony Howell as the Man Who Needs to be Feared, and there’s some deft doubling up that belies the size of the cast. Barnaby Edwards’ direction gives it a pace and style, aided by Naomi Clarke’s sound design, something rather different from usual (as the story requires).

Verdict: A nice tip of the hat to the Master of Suspense makes for a good one-off return. 7/10

Paul Simpson

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