The first two events at the BFI Southbank, London, were a massive success: An Unearthly Child in January and The Tomb of the Cybermen last weekend. Tickets for the Jon Pertwee story The Mind of Evil (10 March) sold out in minutes. But – many were asking – which serial would be selected to represent Tom Baker from his diverse seven-year tenure? 

“Genesis, Talons, Zygons or Pyramids? How to choose just one story from the era of the fourth Doctor has to be the cruellest choice of all,” says BFI programmer Justin Johnson, contacting us between screenings at the “chilly” Berlin Film Festival. “In the end, we went for this fine story with Tom Baker at his sparkling best and four episodes of sheer joy... I just wish we had a venue with 20,000 seats!!”

First shown in 1977, The Robots of Death has long been a fan favourite. A suspenseful, beautifully designed four-parter, it features Tom Baker in his prime, with the always brilliant Louise Jameson as Leela, the Doctor’s leather-clad “noble savage” companion. The adventure unfolds aboard a gigantic mobile Sandminer, run by a small band of humans whose robot servants suddenly become homicidal…

The date and time of the event are now fixed: Saturday 20 April, 2.00pm. Guests are still to be finalised.