Meera Syal being a shit-hot writer in her own right (I love Bhaji on the Beach), and almost certainly not in immediate need of BBC telly cash, I can't imagine her having considered doing Doctor Who for more than a minute unless she got something worth doing.

Nasreen was just utterly note-perfect throughout, and I love Syal more than ever. I may even write her a letter. She is, for the time being at least, my favourite one-off character ever.