N.B. there might (or might not) be spoilers in this article!

Little did we know at the start of 2003 what Doctor Who‘s fortieth anniversary year would bring, but My Life as a Dalek, the Mark Gatiss-presented Radio 4 documentary kicks it off nicely, as the Wilderness Years continue — although, as it turned out, not for much longer!

It’s short-but-sweet, offering a super potted history of the Daleks with some lovely contributions from Verity Lambert, Raymond Cusick, Alexei Sayle as well as Dalek operators Cy Town and John Scott Martin themselves amongst others. Interspersed with the excellent interviews are a few choice clips, including a sketch from Dead Ringers with Jon Culshaw in Fourth Doctor mode.

The script is witty: I laughed out loud at the description of Nicholas Briggs as a “self-confessed Dalek idiot” and also when Briggs drew out the similarities between other voice actors’ Dalek performances and their work on Rainbow (of the Daleks), Thunderbirds and The Flower Pot Men (Roy Skelton, David Graham and Peter Hawkins respectively).

Overall, My Life as a Dalek manages to be amusing, affectionate and appreciative all in one and as such is something of a hidden gem among Doctor Who documentaries.