Taking the prize for the biggest surprise of last week has to be the announcement of the new Doctor Who spinoff Class.

Heading up the all-ages show set in the halls of Coal Hill School is award-winning writer Patrick Ness. But who is he – and what can we expect?

After all, Ness has written ‘adult’ novels, but he’s mainly known for his young adult books, particularly 2008’s The Knife of Never Letting Go – first book in the Chaos Walking trilogy – and 2011’s A Monster Calls.

And yet we couldn’t be happier to have him working on Class, and here’s why:

His villains are fascinating and terrifying.

Take Mayor Prentiss, the antagonist of Chaos Walking – he’s one of the most genuinely terrifying villains who ever twirled a moustache (not that the Mayor would ever do anything so gauche as moustache-twirling).

At no point is there ever any question that he’s anything other than a genocidal control freak, but he’s so slick you find yourself wanting to both trust him and run away screaming.

Class needs more than the usual parade of Cybermen and Daleks, and Ness is the man for the job. (And he’s also pretty great at writing young characters, too.)

He isn’t a stranger to Doctor Who.

Ness’s Fifth Doctor-starring Tip of the Tongue short was one of the 12 stories released in 2013 to celebrate Doctor Who 50th anniversary.

It placed him in good company among big names such as Neil Gaiman, Holly Black and Malorie Blackman, as well as giving us some solid evidence that he probably knows his way around the TARDIS.

He’ll tackle big, interesting and challenging topics.

The best young adult fiction is the kind that really gets to grips with the day-to-day issues that plague everyone, and Ness is definitely up among the best.

Chaos Walking deals with (among other things), modern-day information overload, albeit in the form of a virus on a distant alien world, and 2013’s More Than This confronts death and the poisonous power of guilt.

The openly gay writer has featured his share of LGBT characters in his books – and while sometimes their sexuality is central to the plot, at other times it’s just a fact that doesn’t even demand remarking upon. In fact, Ness has made a habit of writing characters of all types.

His diversity and thoughtfulness are qualities that will hopefully tip Class over the line from good to great.

Steven Moffat has his back.

The Doctor Who showrunner knows they’re onto a good thing too, and who are we to contradict him?

“No-one has documented the dark and exhilarating world of the teenager like Patrick Ness, and now we’re bringing his brilliant storytelling into Doctor Who,” said Moffat when the announcement was made.

“This is growing up in modern Britain – but with monsters!”

Class will start filming in early 2016 and air later in the year.

News Source: Digital Spy