Hats off to the BBC PR machine for the way it has captured the public interest in its flagship Saturday teatime series by announcing the next actor to play Doctor Who in a special programme and then milking the publicity to the full.
The screening of a special Doctor Who Confidential programme to reveal the next Time Lord was backed up by a sequence of TV trailers, news articles and talk show debates and then thrust into a prominent position on the prime-time Saturday evening schedule.
The BBC cranked up the PR volume by displaying the programme on giant outdoor screens, a treatment usually reserved for important national events such as Wimbledon or a Royal ceremony.
All the fuss and carefully coordinated publicity goes to show just how acutely aware the BBC has become of the importance of PR in promoting the multi-million pound worldwide brand that Doctor Who has become.
The corporation turned the unveiling of 26-year-old Matt Smith into headline news- a move that is sure to increase audience figures for a series, which is now sold to more than 40 countries across the world.