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

I’m fairly sure my parents took my sister and me to see Russ Abbot live on stage in Great Yarmouth in the early 80’s. Les Dennis might have been involved, but possibly not other Madhouse stalwarts such as Bella Emberg and the late Dustin Gee — my memory is hazy, but if Googling has served me well, said vague recollection might well be of sitting in the ABC Theatre during the summer season of the All Laughter Show.

But what does an apparent non-sequiteur blog opening such as this offer? Perhaps nothing more than to highlight that I’d been aware of Russ Abbot as a light entertainer since an early age, and that it should be no surprise to me he would be so suited to the part of Secrets of the Stars‘ astrologist extraordinaire Martin Trueman, lending the role the right mix of cheese, unctuous charm and slightly-over-the-top showmanship.

“Today, you being different saved the world.”

Sarah Jane, Secrets of the Stars, Part Two

Given his lack of a birthday and astrological star sign, it’s blindingly obvious from early-on that Luke will have some significant part to play in the story’s resolution, but it’s still fun to see it play out. Clyde gets to be possessed (or at least hypnotised), Sarah Jane gets a night out that doesn’t translate to a night off and Rani’s Mum Gita, played by the wonderful Mina Anwar, almost steals the show. She and Haresh and Rani have settled into The Sarah Jane Adventures as if they were living on Bannermen Road all along.

Indeed, I’d have quite happily watched a spin-off focussing on the Chandras – with Gita berating Haresh’s cooking every week.