10 Most Hated Doctor Who Episodes

Orphan 55 is a frontrunner for the worst Doctor Who story of all time, and that's thoroughly deserved.

There is not a single element of this story that holds up to scrutiny, be it the ropey script, choppy editing, or the most god-awful supporting cast ever pulled together in the show: a thumb-sucking love interest, Jay from The Inbetweeners, whatever Hyph3n is, and, of course, BENNIIIIIIIII. Even the main cast is unable to elevate this dumpster fire, try as they might.

The episode then ends on the 'twist' reveal that the dead planet on which the resort sits is in fact Earth, and the Doctor warns that if humanity doesn't alter its planet-pillaging course, then we're all doomed.

On its own, this isn't an issue - many Doctor Who episodes have political messages - but the problem is that the message is not woven into the story properly, and the speech that the Doctor gives is both extremely surface-level, and extremely patronising, feeling more like a slap on the wrist than a compelling argument.

Aliens of London - in a jab against the Iraq war - gave us an early-noughties UK government justifying a false flag war with unsubstantiated claims of weapons of mass destruction, and that whole political allegory is ten times more subtle than Orphan 55, despite featuring giant, green, overweight, flatulent aliens. Go figure.