Neil Cross, creator of Luther and writer on two Doctor Who Series 7 episodes, says he’d be “too scared to take on Doctor Who” as showrunner — but acknowledges that he owes current showrunner, Russell T Davies, a great deal.

Cross explains:

“At the same time, having never met him, if Russell T Davies asked me round because he needed his house cleaned or he needed someone to cook him breakfast, I would do it without hesitation.

“What he did for me, and for the Doctor Who universe in general, can’t really be underestimated. He has brought me more joy than any living human being.”

Rather a lovely sentiment.

Cross, nonetheless, would be a great showrunner in my view — he’s already been in charge of popular TV shows (Luther; Spooks; Crossbones) and shows considerable versatility in his writing: Hide and The Rings of Akhaten are poles apart and while the latter is divisive, it does show considerable ingenuity and guts (and I love it).

So might Neil come back to write for Who? Maybe. He is, at least, good friends with executive producer, Julie Gardner. He says:

“We don’t talk about Doctor Who very much – although I do sometimes, when I’ve had a glass of wine. Through her, I was able to get Russell’s email address, and I was able to write him essentially a fan letter to say thank you. He wrote me such a gracious reply and it made me love him even more.”

You can enjoy Cross’ latest producer, Fallen Son, the film based on the Luther television programme, on Netflix now. And do so — if you’ve got a strong stomach — because it’s fantastic.