During its seven-year run (1997-2003) Buffy the Vampire Slayer won three Emmys and was listed tenth on Entertainment Weekly's 100 Greatest Shows of All Time, second on Empire's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time and third on TV Guide's Top 25 Cult TV Shows of All Time.

Clara Oswald's secret is shortly due to be revealed on Doctor Who (unless America blurts it out before Saturday night) and we've just found out the id...

Sometimes I ask myself whether there really is a fate or destiny to things, and it's hard to be sceptical when, three years later, I find myself (along with James Doherty of the National Autistic Society Scotland), not in Hollywood, but on a Scottish street late one Sunday night meeting Joss Whedon.

Last week marked the 15th anniversary of the pilot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, this landmark got me thinking: Where have all the decent female characters gone?

Joss Whedon sighs audibly. Fans around the world cringe, cry, and/or feel the need to slay something, like, right now. But me? I'm kind of intrigued.

Buffy was a brilliant companion to the hellish joy of adolescence. She wasn't always shiny, happy and blonde - she was dark, and unhappy and scared. And what teenager isn't at some point or other?