Meera Syal, star of comedy series Goodness Gracious me, has praised both the “classic” and “new” series of Doctor Who. It seems that Meera, currently playing Nasreen Chaudhry in The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood, has a fondness for how the show used to be made:

“Part of its quaintness was that it was sometimes slightly amateur… That was part of its charm,”

And while the current series may have large explosions, mouth watering effects and a bigger budget, the actress is still drawn in by what makes Doctor Who so special:

“There’s great emotion and a really vulnerable Doctor… The old Doctors were all-powerful, all-knowing and a bit enigmatic. There’s a frailty in the new breed of Doctor, which is great.”

Revealing that she would like to write an episode one day, Meera realises that she’d be up against some strong talent:

“It’d be an honour,” she explained. “But my God, you’d have to step right up to the plate because the standard’s so high. Also, it’s been running so long that you’d have to wonder what hasn’t been done.”

Meera has written and starred in some great television shows and it would be fantastic to see what ideas she could come up with for an episode of Doctor Who – find out more about what she thinks of the show in the latest Doctor Who Magazine, on sale now!