He told the magazine: “Steven Moffat said to me, ‘Make a Barrett home terrifying like you did in Crooked House,’ but Crooked House was on at ten o’clock at night, this is on at six. You have to find that balance…”.

Gatiss’s episode, rumoured to be titled ‘What Are Little Boys Made Of?’, was originally set to air as Episode 4 of the 2011 series, but is now being held back until the Autumn.

The Sherlock co-creator has previously written three Doctor Who episodes: ‘The Unquiet Dead’, ‘The Idiot’s Lantern’ and ‘Victory Of The Daleks’.

Discussing his love of the show, Gatiss he added: “Doctor Who has been the biggest thing in my life really, and it’s entirely because I was scared stiff of it – but I loved it. It didn’t traumatise me, and a healthy scare is as important as a good laugh. It’s exactly the same emotion, I think.”

The 84-page Doctor Who Magazine issue 431 is available from Thursday 10th February, priced £4.50.