Politicians could learn from ‘Years and Years’. At least it’s taking our fears about impending doom seriously

Perhaps the government should snap up Russell T Davies and put him in a think tank to make sure that none of what he has written ever comes true

Have you seen it? Honestly, it’s the best programme on the telly by a country mile and it’s available on iPlayer (you’ll thank me). Years and Years – written by Russell T Davies, the screen writer responsible for many brilliant shows including Queer as Folk, Bob and Rose and the rebooting of Doctor Who back in 2005 – has pulled off something which manages to straddle day to day domesticity with utter chaos, and the best/worst thing about it is that it feels like it could happen right here, tomorrow.

Years and Years is a near-future dystopian drama that succeeds in weaving science fiction into a classy family soap opera, and as a result achieves something more chilling than anything I’ve watched in recent months (admittedly, I’ve yet to see Chernobyl).

Since coming back from holiday a week ago and feeling the force of being sucked back into a vacuum of countrywide unhappiness, the phrase “this is very Years and Years” hasn’t strayed far from my lips. I don’t know about you, but I feel we’re all sitting on a tinderbox and the only question is: when will it blow... how much more bonkers does this country have to get before the lid comes off?