… Finally, Dale Smith’s The Many Hands is a very odd fish. On one level, this tale of grave-robbers, reanimation and alien parasites in 18th century Edinburgh is surprisingly macabre, with scenes of body horror that wouldn’t be allowed anywhere near teatime telly. Yet it’s also surprisingly cartoonish, the plot amounting to little more than monsters chasing our heroes up and down the Royal Mile like an overly lurid episode of Scooby Doo. And the Doctor appears to wrap the whole thing up in under an hour - suggesting that many hands do, indeed, make light work.

*** (out of five)

Paul Kirkley

Dale Smith has made a bunch of Who stories he wrote before he was first published available free online. Go to http://tinyurl.com/279os9 to download them.