Team TARDIS come to the aid of a young girl in the wilds of Norway…

When this season of Doctor Who was being trailed, head writer Chris Chibnall explained that he was using the ten episodes of the season to demonstrate the wide variety of stories that can be told using the Doctor Who format. In some ways, it feels as if It Takes You Away tries to cover about four different versions of the format at once – and I’m sure for some, it will feel like overkill, particularly the scenes of the Doctor towards the end – but director Jamie Childs keeps it together so that there’s an overall tone that works.

Ellie Wallwork gives a credible, strong performance as blind Hanne, with Norwegian actors Christian Rubeck and Lisa Stokke aiding the veracity of the set-up; that’s counterpointed with Kevin Eldon’s intriguing Ribbons of the Seven Stomachs and the creatures around him – the only section in this story that felt as if it could have been tightened up. (This is one of the rare times this season where I’ve felt the story could have been told in the old 45-minute format without losing anything at all.) But the best moments go to Bradley Walsh for reasons that will become clear when you see it…

For various reasons, in the last few days I’ve watched Matt Smith’s Series 6 opener, and William Hartnell and co. in The Romans – It Takes You Away is still recognisably the same series as both, but with a new twist. And that, more than anything else, is what I’ve enjoyed about Series 11.

Verdict: Packed with ideas, Ed Hime’s story throws twist upon twist to make a very different sort of episode. 8/10

Paul Simpson