The Doctor and housemates head back to the 1940s…

Lisa McMullin’s script has nothing to do with the gang of urchins who assisted Sherlock Holmes (or their updated counterpart in the new Netflix series), but the Special Operations Executive, whose operatives had that title. I’m really beginning to think this box set had the working title Secrets and Lies, since every story so far has had something relevant to that idea – and in this one it’s not purely the secrets that Tania is keeping from Liv, although that does dominate their thread.

McMullin juggles the various threads well – there’s an SOE sabotage mission to fulfil, an operative to rescue, and very mysterious goings-on with regard to something that Tania is investigating that potentially puts a cat at risk (oh and a lot of other people, but it’s the cat that’s focused on). The trust issues between Tania and Liv aren’t the only emotional thread – for Helen, it’s a return to a time that she remembers as a child, while other things are brought to the surface as the story progresses.

Benji Clifford’s sound design and Jamie Robertson’s score are essential to the mood-setting, and Ken Bentley’s direction ratchets up the tension as required. To avoid spoilers, I won’t name the new regulars who are given what could have been a melodramatic soap opera-style reveal, but both involved play it very credibly.

Verdict: A very dramatic tale that juggles wartime missions, a time travel conundrum and emotional development well. 9/10

Paul Simpson

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