Our Time Lord enters the Ton.

Enduring the mid-season drought between part one and two of Bridgerton‘s latest season will feel a smidgen easier with the sixth episode of Doctor Who, of all things.

After weeks in the Doctor-lite wilderness of ’73 Yards’ and ‘Dot and Bubble’, Ncuti Gatwa’s Time Lord is back with a bang in ‘Rogue’. The year is 1813, the place is Bath and the theme is very much a Regency romp with gossip, romance and scandal aplenty.

Russell T Davies is once again relieved of writing duties this episode, with co-writers Kate Herron and Briony Redman bringing some fresh blood to proceedings. They’re clearly enormous Shondaland fans.

Netflix’s smash is acknowledged in the dialogue: “Oh, this is so Bridgerton,” Ruby squeals at a clandestine scene between Regency lovers, as if to pre-empt such comment from viewers.

The gut punch of last episode’s final scene in Finetime is followed by the balm of a Regency ball, where the Doctor and Ruby (Millie Gibson) can enjoy a lively bounce around the dancefloor.

This is the fun of time-travelling with the Doctor. They’re not explicitly here at the behest of an SOS call – although, naturally, trouble does come calling – they just fancied a Regency jolly.

The Bath country estate is decked out with an abundance of Bridgerton‘s trademark wisteria and budget was even spent on a couple of contemporary pop hits to dance the quadrille to (begging the question of why such cash wasn’t splashed on a single Beatles track for the Abbey Road episode).

The Doctor and Ruby soon split up to get into solo scrapes. Ruby befriends a young debutante who frets over her standing in the marriage market. For anyone who caught ITV’s noughties miniseries Lost in Austen, Ruby’s storyline in this episode is of a piece with that modern fish-out-of-water tale set in the world of Pride and Prejudice.

Meanwhile, “just” the Doctor meets “just” Rogue, played by guest star Jonathan Groff, after locking eyes across the bustling ballroom. Rogue is a suave bounty hunter with a snazzy blaster pistol, which he’s not afraid to point at the Doctor.

We can’t share what unfolds between the Doctor and Rogue, but are allowed to say that he is left forever changed by what happens. The sense of fun that both Gatwa and Groff are having throughout the episode is palpable and infectious. You’ll be skipping back on iPlayer or Disney+ to rewatch their scenes.

We’re treated to not one but two stellar guest stars in one episode: Indira Varma is also pitch perfect as the hostess with the mostest, the Duchess of Pemberton. If she ever makes the trip over to London, she could definitely give Bridgerton‘s Lady Danbury a run for her money.

So delightful is Varma as the Duchess that we could have spent even more time with her before she’s revealed as one of the villainous bird things terrorising the aristocracy.

They are the Chuldur, who look a bit like harpies, but with the bird body and human head flipped. They’re not particularly memorable – we’re starting to suspect the show is purposefully making this season’s scaries look dorky, perhaps for the kids.

Or maybe it’s a budgetary thing. The Regency costuming is noticeably not quite up to Netflix’s scratch, even if Gatwa does look fabulous with his 19th-century ponytail and buffed court shoes.

With the Doctor and Ruby largely split up, it’s been an interesting mid-season run for our dynamic duo. Presumably, the distance will be narrowed in the upcoming finale double bill.

Regardless, the mischievous delight of ‘Rogue’ comes from a delicately struck tonal balancing act, which lightly pokes fun at the fairly frivolous show it’s emulating, while also delighting in how marvellous a world it is to pass time in.

The Venn-diagram overlap of Bridgerton and Doctor Who fans, of which we naturally count ourselves, will be in heaven with ‘Rogue’: the rollicking Regency episode is over far too soon. But that might be for the best. Any longer and it could start to give this season of Bridgerton a real run for its money.