Steven Moffat has taken the BBC to task over its decision to take Doctor Who off the air back in 1989.

Moffat told the Radio Times: “Ah, 50 years. What can one say about 50 years of Doctor Who? Well, first of all, one can be pedantic. Doctor Who hasn’t been on for 50 years – owing to the outright stupidity and unforgiveable blindness of the BBC (sorry guys, it needs to be said), there was a 16-year gap.”

“That gap is important. It confers something very special on this most special of all shows: immortality. Doctor Who, for once and for all, is the show that comes back. Axe it at your peril, someone like me is going to call you a fool, and lots of people like you are going to read along and nod.”

“While the BBC folded its arms and shook its head, there were books by the likes of Russell T Davies, Mark Gatiss and Paul Cornell. There were audio adventures, starring all the old Doctors. There was an action-packed American tele-film, and endless rumours of Hollywood movies. Doctor Who Magazine, whose purpose was to document the making of the TV show, carried on perfectly happily without the TV show being made.”

Bravo Moffat, bravo.