The recently regenerated Doctor returns to Earth and bumps into an old friend.

Russell T Davies marks his return as Doctor Who’s showrunner with the first of three diamond anniversary specials, here adapting an eight-part comic strip from 1980’s Doctor Who Weekly, and it’s an absolute blast.

The Star Beast strip is a huge fan-favourite, not least because of its fantastic artwork by Dave Gibbons and witty script attributed to ‘Wagner and Mills’ (though it was Pat Mills who actually wrote it), but it also has a great twist and a scale that the BBC could not imagine replicating on screen at the time. But in 2023, with a financial injection from Disney, it’s all about the scale, and the story can finally be given justice.

That’s not to say the sole focus is on the cute Meep or insectoid Wrarth Warriors, as the story is as much about the post-regeneration Doctor (David Tennant) finding his feet and his coming together with Donna (Catherine Tate) and her family. It’s lovely to see Donna’s mum Sylvia again, we get to know husband Shaun and there’s a lovely performance from Yasmin Finney as daughter Rose.

Director Rachel Talalay returns for her eighth episode and is a steady pair of hands for event TV episodes, which this clearly is. She’s well served by Tennant and Tate, who bounce off one another, delivering Davies’ zingers with aplomb. The gang are back, but because this is a different Doctor (he’s lived three other lives since they last met) and Donna has experienced 15 more years of terrestrial life, there’s enough of a change in the dynamic to keep it interesting.

Murray Gold’s score is boisterous, screaming out ‘We’re back, and bigger than ever!’ and for an anniversary special that’s surely partially designed to bring back old viewers who may have lost their faith along the way, that’s no bad thing. So many other things that I don’t want to spoil, so just watch it, and I anticipate you’ll have a grin on your face for the whole running time.

And because this is Russell T Davies, he’s progressive with how he treats his characters, from gender identity to perceived disability – he’s bold and he’s not interested in those waving their ‘woke’ placards. Oh, and when the Doctor says ‘Cryptic. I hate that!’ is Davies cheekily referencing Chibnall’s Flux or Moffat’s episodes that were too clever for their own good? Who knows, but in the meantime just take my money now and deliver a plush Meep to my door.

Verdict: Big, brash and fun – Doctor Who returns to Saturday evenings with a bang. Welcome back. 9/10

Nick Joy