On the one hand it really is the oddest choice to start a new range of audios with. It’s camp, silly, packed with over-the-top performances and does rely on people being familiar with who Bernice is a bit too much.

On the other hand, it is actually a good example of what Benny does best - solving a mystery with the clues in front of her. The story actually develops at a really good pace (I do love that the cover boasts about the story being nearly two hours long) and it reveals it hand carefully and with Bernice working it out whilst having a fun time in the crazy world.

I know the panto stuff probably irritates some people but I’ve adored panto since I was a kid and I love the way it is woven into the story alongside general fairy tale tropes (another love of mine). It’s clever how the story shifts from one set of tropes to another and plays with the tropes a bit and the reveal that it’s all because of a dissertation on panto uploaded to a ship’s computer marries the weird reality and the ‘normal’ world of Bernice in a satisfactory way.

The over the top characters are huge fun and I adore Mark Gatiss channelling Kenneth Williams as the Vizier. Nick Briggs’ Julian Clary-esque fairy godfather is fun too. He also gives good Prince Charming and the rest of the cast are fun as various dwarves and dames.

Top of the list though are Lisa Bowerman and Nicholas Courtney as Benny and Wolsey. Nicholas Courtney is sublime as Wolsey, especially when he starts to have an existential crisis about not really being a talking pussy. He has a great line in dick jokes too.

But I think we undersell how brilliant Lisa Bowerman is in her first outing as Benny. She absolutely hits the ground running and owns the part. It really is no surprise that this series continues with Bowerman at the head of the ship. She is instantly likeable and pins Benny’s character immediately. She starts as she means to go on and I’m not sure she’s ever given a bad performance as Benny.

The Grel are a great creation too - all the ‘bad fact/report/query’ stuff is fun and I like the fact the script doesn’t try to force them into fairy tale roles but keeps them as outsiders like Bernice, but enlisting the help of villains to try to achieve their ends.

I think this is probably one of those stories you either love or hate and, you know what, I love it. 4/5