"The Haunting of Villa Diodati"

The meeting of minds that took place in the summer of 1816 at the Villa Diodati would be fascinating enough if it had just been one of those legendary gatherings of the great and good. However, as this summer produced Frankenstein and The Vampyre it is fair to say that Doctor Who itself would not exist were it not for the creativity that that sunless summer spawned. It is bold, therefore for the Doctor to gleefully gatecrash this legendary holiday. We do get the expected story of the Doctor meeting and possibly influencing a great writer. However, this is achieved in an intoxicating, reality-folding horror story, with some genuine shocks and some clever moments. Strangely, there are no really big names amongst the cast of characters in the Villa Diodati, but each actor portrays their role well. Lili Miller makes a very charismatic Mary Shelley and Maxim Baldry a wonderfully grumpy Dr Polidori. As a poet, Byron is a master, but, unlike his daughter, he was far less admirable as a person and the story portrays not only his charisma but, rather than the usual trio of characteristics associated with him, he is also cowardly and callous, brought out in a fine performance as Jacob Collins-Levy. There is also a nice turn from Nadia Parkes as the tragic Claire Clairmont, who is given a good deal of dignity, here. The scenes in the Villa with just the regulars and the historical holidaymakers are, in turns, delightful, funny, spooky and shocking.

However, the story also has to set up the finale, and we have our first encounter with the lone Cyberman. It is here that we have some very woolly writing that could have done with a few more drafts – the nature of the Cyberium, presumably a far-future version of Mr Clever is rather poorly explained and the to-ing and fro-ing concerning Shelley's importance in the timeline doesn't really work. We are helped with a very arresting performance by Patrick O'Kane who memorably chews the scenery. The Cyberman is not one we've encountered before, naming himself as Ashad and being clearly emotional – his declamation of the experience of his killing of his family is suffused with both sadism and pain.

Emma Sullivan again puts fantastic work behind the camera. The scenes progress alternately with snappy urgency and slow dread when required. The cinematography throughout is excellent, so when the sun finally bursts in, it is a wondrous shock to viewer and character alike. The period detail is wonderful, as is the Cyberman, who has shades of Star Trek's Borg about it. The regulars continue to do excellent work, with Ryan being a standout this week. In the face of the Lone Cyberman, Jodie Whittaker has the Doctor seem closer to the Lonely God than she has ever been, but we are also, for the first time, given the Doctor as an object of desire, by Byron, no less – and “Mrs” Doctor is having none of it.

There are some large problems with the script, but "The Haunting of Villa Diodati" is very well made and tremendously entertaining. Of course, some questions might be answered in coming weeks – the materialisation of the Cyberman does seem very familiar...

NEXT: "Ascension of the Cybermen"