Landing in Lancashire in the 17th century, the Doctor and Team TARDIS become embroiled in a witch hunt…

Joy Wilkinson’s terrific script gives Alan Cumming a chance to demonstrate various sides to King James (occasionally allowing the camper side to dominate slightly more than it perhaps needs to), alongside some truly Doctor-y moments for Jodie Whittaker. If you’ve been concerned in previous historicals that the Doctor has stood by and allowed things to happen, this is something of a corrective.

There’s acknowledgement of the Doctor’s presented gender and the disadvantages that it presents when back in history, and more than one point where you can see the story heading in a different direction because the arrivals’ leader is female rather than male – Capaldi’s Doctor, for example, would probably dominate the King in a very different way than Whittaker’s. Sallie Aprahamian’s direction emphasises the bleak nature of the locality, and there’s some very good use of unusual set-ups, aided by Segun Akinola’s evocative score.

There are moments throughout any incarnation of the Doctor’s first season where you can see the pure essence of the Time Lord shining through, and this episode has got quite a lot of them – aided by the emphasis being on her more than the companions (who each get something to do) and nice turns from Tilly Steele as Willa Twiston and Siobhan Finneran as Becka Savage.

Verdict: Another strong episode that feels as if the show has found its footing. 9/10

Paul Simpson