Two women with many secrets to hide meet at the site of a crashed spaceship – will either survive the night?

As director and script editor Scott Handcock points out in the extras, there’s a very limited window to set a story featuring Margaret Blaine during her time as Mayor of Cardiff, and a restriction in that she can’t really meet up with Jack Harkness. That leaves Indira Varma’s Suzie Costello as an obvious choice – and it turns out to be an inspired one in Lisa McMullin’s capable hands.

There’s verbal and physical jousting throughout the entire story, with both characters playing their respective cards close to their chests – although the listeners are, for once, ahead of the game given what we know is revealed in “future” stories. Annette Badland and Varma make the most of the opportunities they’re given, and Handcock and sound designer Richard Fox use the audio medium well to tell what’s often a quite visual story. Blair Mowat’s music score is pared back compared with some stories, and the lack of music works to make its presence more noticeable when it does arrive.

There’s plenty of scope for these two to cross swords before the Doctor, Jack and Rose arrive in Cardiff for Boom Town – somehow I won’t be surprised if Suzie has some role in the Bad Wolf project…

Verdict: Thelma and Louise have nothing on this potentially lethal (not least to each other) combination. 8/10

Paul Simpson