Banging end regenerates Time Lord’s whimper of a series

Simm as the Master

Over at Saturday night’s

finale, the Doctor was busy making cracks about the Cybermen not having much up top: “You can always fool a monkey brain with a little bit of theatre.”

Funnily enough, for me that pretty much sums up the latest series.

OK, so writer Steven Moffat might not actually think BBC1 viewers have the brains of monkeys. (The jury is still out on whether whoever commissioned Pitch Battle does, however.) That said, gilded by that “montage of companions” near the end. Peter Capaldi was on great form and you cannot deny that the surprise ending left us all wanting more.

As if the current Doctor halting his regeneration by dipping his flaming hands in some handily placed snow wasn’t enough, in walked the first Doctor – with the wonderful David Bradley taking on William Hartnell’s duties.

The pair will be back on Christmas Day. The missing millions, you might say, would be well advised to join them.