Mel, Hebe and Elise go about their normal daily business in Pease Pottage – while the Doctor is stuck in the service station…

Mark Wright scripts this penultimate instalment in the Purity arc, and ties together a lot of the threads, incorporating some of the essential elements of Bonnie Langford’s character, Mel, stretching right back to her first appearance on screen in Terror of the Vervoids. As producer Jacqueline Rayner notes in the extras, inevitably a lot of the focus of this arc has been on the new companion – Ruth Madeley’s Hebe – whose presence, or lack of it, has driven much of the story, but Rayner and her team wanted to ensure that there were plenty of challenges for Langford – and Wright delivers on that here.

It feels very much an ensemble piece – the Doctor is separate, fencing with Imogen Stubbs’ Purity (there is no Patricia McBride), while Mel, Hebe and Cherylee Houston’s Elise try to solve the mysteries of Pease Pottage. The Corruptions of the title have an interesting origin with Richard Fox’s sound design and Helen Goldwyn’s direction helping to keep the secret until it needs to be divulged.

Given the way this arc has used cliffhangers throughout, it’s not surprising that there’s a strong one at the end here – told pretty much entirely in sound – with a beautifully judged single comment from Colin Baker’s Doctor that emphasises the threat without all the histrionics that you might expect.

Verdict: There’s still all to play for following this well-crafted tale. 9/10

Paul Simpson

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