DOCTOR WHO, BBC1, 7.20pm
PETER Capaldi returns for his last series as The Doctor – and when he departs he’ll take with him my last reason for watching this show.
I think it’s impossible to love Doctor Who unless you’ve been immersed in it since childhood.
Pearl Mackie makes her debut tonight as Bill Potts, The Doctor’s new companion, and there’s been lots of predictable fuss already as she plays a lesbian, and so will be the first openly gay sidekick.
If this caused a ripple among the fans I think it’s safe to assume the next Doctor will not be a woman.
In the first episode of 12 in this series, The Doctor pops up in Bristol University where Bill works in the student cafe.
However, she is soon whisked away from her zero-hours contract and across time and space in the Tardis, helping the Doctor in his “secret mission”.
They are joined by Matt Lucas, who returns as Nardone.
BIG GOLD DREAM, BBC2, 9pm
I HAVE several bones to pick with my mother, and one of them concerns music.
Growing up in her household, and with her in charge of the record player, I thought there was nothing to Scottish music except the Bay City Rollers, and this was reinforced by old photos of her in floppy bunnet and with tartan scarves tied round her wrists.
School helped slightly, by making us twirl to country dancing in the gym. So there are two types of music in Scotland, I thought. You’ve got your Shang-A-Lang and your Gay Gordons? Right. Got it.
This documentary puts the record straight for musically malnourished nippers like me.
It tells the colourful story of the post-punk movement in Edinburgh and Glasgow, using The Clash’s infamous gig in Edinburgh in 1977 as the starting point.
Peter Hook, Alan McGee and Bob Last offer their contributions on this raucous, creative period.
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