WHILE the future of the BBC has very much been the hot topic of this year’s Edinburgh International Television Festival, there was last night another event to cause excitement and debate of another kind – a preview screening of the opening episode of the new series of Doctor Who.

And yet at the Q&A that followed the screening at the Filmhouse, it was the first subject broached by the show’s executive producers Steven Moffatt and Brian Minchin.

“Armando Iannucci’s was really on point,” said Moffatt, referring to Wednesday’s MacTaggart Lecture in which The Thick Of It and Veep creator called for a robust defence of the corporation from the forces which would wish it destroyed.

“It was the sort of lecture to make you want to punch your fist your air and cheer, which is what you want from a lecture,” he said.

“When you think about the sheer diversity of the output – not just Doctor Who but everything from Bake Off to pretty much anything David Attenborough has ever done – it’s something well worth defending.

“And I think most people know that. What we’re talking about is a large amount of people who actually like the BBC and a small number of people who don’t. It’s just unfortunate that most of those happen to be in the Government.”

Of the new episode itself, very little can be said, with transmission still three weeks away and Moffatt keen to avoid the kind of spoilers that have dogged the series in recent years. Last year, for example, whole episodes were leaked online prior to transmission. But it is a surprisingly substantial season-openers with more than a few moments that will definitely cause a stir among long-term fans of the series.

What can be also said of the episode, however, is that it is definitely filmic in scope and has an epic sweep normally reserved for series finales rather than their openers. This is deliberate, says Moffatt, as the show makes more use of two-part episodes this year.

“It allows you to go into more detail in the story,” he said. “To take your time a bit. Although it’s a blessing and a curse because you it allows you make a movie but you’re also required to make a movie.”

He also took the opportunity to lay to rest some of the recent internet rumours of returning other Doctors or any other “celebrations” of what will be the show’s tenth year on air in its revived form and following hard on the heels of its fiftieth anniversary last year.

He said: “If you had a tenth anniversary so close after the fiftieth people would just walk away confusedly shaking their heads.”

“You just have to put all that stuff back away in the cupboard. You can’t keep bringing it out because you have to keep it special.”

As essentially the programme’s showrunner, Moffatt not only has to write and produce the show but act as its international ambassador. Part of that is it debunk periodic claims that its popularity is on the wane when clearly, he argues, it is not.

“We honestly don’t how many people watch it worldwide because it’s complicated by this little thing called the internet, so it’s just impossible to know for sure.

“But let’s not forget that the revived show has nearly been on air for ten years now and it’s still as popular as it’s ever been. These screenings always sell out. The papers are still talking about us. Most shows that have been on for that long gently decline but Doctor Who has gently declined to gently decline.”

Moffatt is also sanguine about the future of the show and of television in general in the wake of the advent of streaming services like Netflix and Amazon and series like Breaking Bad and House of Cards, offered online in their entirety for subscribers to binge on.

“I don’t think it’s the end of television,” said Moffatt. “I’ve been coming to the television festival since 1989 and they’ve been saying that every year. The likes of Netflix are still delivering the same model as we always have, just in a slightly different way.

“Technological change does happen and you just have to go along with it but I still feel Who is more of a once-a-week thing.”

But Moffatt is clearly highly attuned to the real reason for the show’s continued success and takes great pains to ensure a small fan in the front row gets to ask her question.

“When are you going to do one in Perth?” asks the small voice.

“Well, we seldom get much further than Cardiff,” says Moffatt. “But you never know. I’ll definitely circle Perth on my map.”

Doctor Who – The Magician’s Apprentice will air on September 19 on BBC1.

Johnny Zero by Cailean McBride is out now in paperback and ebook, published by Calenture Press.