The list of superlatives for BBC1's Doctor Who revival grows ever longer: seeing off Celebrity Wrestling, winning over die-hard fans and a whole new generation of viewers, not to mention resurrecting family TV viewing virtually single-handedly.
But today the show achieved perhaps its greatest triumph to date - winning the glowing approval of one of its biggest critics, the BBC chairman, Michael Grade, who famously suspended Doctor Who for 18 months when he was running BBC1 in the mid-80s.
Mr Grade, who has since said that his decision to give Doctor Who an extended holiday was born out of a personal dislike of the show, has eaten his words, sending a note to the BBC director general, Mark Thompson, describing the 2005 vintage as a "classy, popular triumph".
He showered glowing praise on everyone involved in the show - from commissioners to the PR department - and revealed that he watched it every week with his six-year-old son, "who is now a fan".
"This is not easy to write - as you will readily understand. But here goes - congratulations to all involved in Doctor Who: to whoever commissioned it, those who executed it, the writers, the cast, the publicity folk that promoted it, the schedulers and of course the late Sydney Newman who invented the whole thing," he wrote.
"I truly enjoyed it and watched it every week with my six-and-a-half-year-old son, who is now a fan. A classy, popular triumph for people of all ages and all backgrounds - real value for money for our licence fee payers.
"PS: never dreamed I would ever write this. Must be going soft!," he sheepishly signed off the note to Mr Thompson.
Mr Grade became a hate figure for Doctor Who fans when he rested the show in early 1985. It returned the following September, but he was still not happy, insisting on the replacement of Colin Baker before agreeing to commission a further series.
But Mr Grade was not at the helm when Doctor Who was finally retired for good in 1989 - that decision fell to the then BBC1 controller, Jonathan Powell.
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