The Doctor and Ruby land in Wales; within moments they disturb a mystical object, and the Doctor disappears. Ruby is alone, or at least that is if the definition of ‘alone’ includes the fact that she’s constantly followed by a motionless old woman, who ominously stands observing her from an exact distance of 73 yards at all times. And time begins to pass.

What starts out as an incredibly effective, very creepy tale that’s rooted in very British folklore soon becomes something very different indeed, though the moments of tension and fear, in relation to other people approaching the grey haired figure, remain dotted throughout.

Though the resolution doesn’t quite work the more you think about it, and unfortunately, given the lack of explanation overall, you’re kind of forced to think about how everything fits together, just getting there is a remarkable journey.

Though Millie Gibson has been great over the last few episodes, here she’s front and centre without the infectious energy, enthusiasm and warmth of Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor to bounce off of, and she is stunningly good. There’s the aforementioned sequences of genuine horror, but something much more heartfelt and melancholy in many scenes, and Gibson is absolutely brilliant in all of them.

There’s an early scene in a pub that put me in mind of An American Werewolf in London’s Slaughtered Lamb, with a great use of lighting, close ups and off kilter camera angles to really sell the scares, and it’s really well done.

Doctor-lite episodes tend to draw out the potential and brilliance of a companion, but the same can be said of a writer, in this case showrunner Russell T Davies, in charge of a story in which they’re forced to deal without the presence of the Time Lord.

As I’ve mentioned, the climactic revelation does, at even the smallest level of scrutiny, raise far more questions than can be answered satisfactorily, and there’s a political subplot that doesn’t get nearly enough breathing room to fully convince. Yet the journey overall is a tour de force of scares, tension, pathos and brilliant performances. 73 Yards easily joins the pantheon of episodes (mostly) without a Doctor that are held in very high regard, such as Blink and Turn Left.

It’s also another great example of why Doctor Who is such a long lasting show; every single episode of this season so far has been vastly different in style, content and execution (some wags may even say levels of quality, but I’ve enjoyed them all), yet it always still feels uniquely Who.

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