Speaking to press at a visit to the Cardiff set of Doctor Who this September, showrunner Chris Chibnall is buzzing with confidence about the new episodes. “We want to do big action-packed, emotional, scary, funny stories. And I think we want to go up a level from last year.”

“Last year was a recruitment year,” Chibnall explains. “For the show, for the Doctor, for getting everybody in … It’s always a stepping-on point with a new Doctor, and also bringing that existing audience as well.

“I think we did alright in the recruiting year, and this year we’re saying to those people and any other people, ‘Okay, here’s the amazing world of Doctor Who, and here’s lots of treats, and here’s lots of new stuff, and here’s some old stuff. Let’s see what you make of this.’ But also I think for ourselves, the ambition is… go up a level, and I think we’ve done that.”

Current TARDIS incumbent Jodie Whittaker picks up the theme. “It feels like we don’t have to do the introduction now, because it’s there, so we can kind of go straight into where us guys are at. And then whatever happens with each individual adventure, or interaction with an old or a new character, it doesn’t have to have the ‘who are we?’ in this storyline.”