I am not a Doctor Who fan.

I count myself among the many that would hide behind the couch as soon as the dreaded theme tune would start, one of those terrified to tears when the Daleks would speak, but my true fear was reserved for the Cybermen (I think it had something to do with a dream I had as a child where they took over my school.

I repeat: I am not a Doctor Who fan.

But Dean is. And as he has spent many a Saturday night at my place I may have caught the odd episode or two, maybe a handful or so. Okay, so I've seen a few of the Chris Eccleston/Billie Piper/ David Tennant era. I only glanced a couple of the Freema Agyeman. And because I'm not a a fan of The Catherine Tate Show I resolutely refused to watch when she became the new companion. That resolution lasted about 24 hours when I caught the repeat on BBC Three the following day and 50 minutes later had been thoroughly won over by the lovely Ms Tate and Donna Noble from Chiswick.

So maybe I am a smidgen of a fan after all.

A couple of months back Dean informed me that the family orientated Prom this year was going to be Doctor Who related and I immediately handed over my tenner. I had to get up early on a Sunday. I had to travel on public transport on a non work day. I had to queue in the sun. And I suffered a minor panic attack in the full to the brim Royal Albert Hall. But it was worth it.

The show was fantastic. Presented by Freema, with help from Camille Coduri (Jackie Tyler), Noel Clarke (Mickey Smith), a trio of Ood (the tentacle face ones with glowing balls), a couple of Judoon (rhino like bike couriers), two Sontarans (short, squat, looks like they got hammered into their outfits) Davros (meglomanic with a skin problem), a Dalek (pepper pot with a whisk and plunger) and three Cybermen (harbingers of bad dreams!).

Music for the new series has been amazing, from the choir voices of 'Journey's End' to Murray Gold's rockier piece for 'Doomsday', and with clips playing on the overhead screens I found myself quietly sobbing on several occasions. The specially filmed minisode 'Music Of The Spheres' was brilliant, light and funny with a cute little message about looking inside yourself for the song of the universe. But the part that shocked me the most was just how pleased I was when Catherine Tate put in a surprise appearance to introduce the section that included Donna's theme. I all but stood up and started jumping up and down... I clapped, cheered and whistled.

So my question is this: What's the next step up from a smidgen?

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