Love & Monsters (Doctor Who)

"Love & Monsters" is the tenth episode of the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on BBC One on 17 June 2006. It was written by executive producer and lead writer Russell T Davies and directed by Dan Zeff.

The episode is set in London. In the episode, a human called Elton Pope (Marc Warren) joins a group of people who have a shared interest in the alien time traveller the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) and his ship the TARDIS. The group is joined and taken over by Victor Kennedy (Peter Kay), an alien who has a darker interest in the Doctor and seeks to absorb his physical body and knowledge.

Due to the addition of a Christmas special in the production schedule, two episodes needed to be shot concurrently for production to finish on time. With "Love & Monsters", Davies told a story from a different character's point of view to allow for only a small appearance by lead actors David Tennant and Billie Piper as the Doctor and Rose Tyler while they filmed the two-part story "The Impossible Planet" and "The Satan Pit". The "Doctor-lite" and "companion-lite" structure has since continued in the programme. Kennedy's alien form, known as the Abzorbaloff, was designed by the winner of a children's competition to design a Doctor Who monster.

"Love & Monsters" was watched by 6.66 million viewers in the United Kingdom and was met with divided reception by critics and fans. Some praised the complexities of the script, while others felt it was a parody or strayed into offensive humour. Kay and the Abzorbaloff also attracted divided opinions.