A new book about British fantasy television is raising money for AIDS research, and TVO is a part of it.

You And Who Else is a unique history of sixty years of British fantasy television, and a definitive record of its place in our lives – as told by the people who saw it: the viewers.

From Ace of Wands to Worzel Gummidge, from Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) to Red Dwarf, the book highlights the way television maps our lives, and fires our imaginations.

Curated by Starburst writer J.R. Southall, the collection follows three previous Doctor Who flavoured instalments in the series, and gives those whose lives have been changed forever by television a chance to speak out about the shows that fired their souls. Far from a humble history of the productions, the book is all about the reactions of those watching as children, teenagers, and adults.

Which is where TVO comes in: your humble editor, Paul Holmes, has written a piece on the greatest telefantasy comedy of them all – The Mighty Boosh – which also takes in a spot of Darkplace love for good measure – and retells the now infamous cracking of the Crack Fox’s arm, and the origins of The Velvet Onion.

Also in the book across its mammoth 792 pages are articles on The League of Gentlemen, Being Human, Dead Set and Black Mirror, as well as, of course, Doctor Who and Sherlock, and countless other classic shows from The Quatermass Experiment in 1953 to another TVO favourite, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell from earlier this year. And if we may be truly humble for a moment: everyone else’s essays are a lot better than ours… so dive on in!

What’s more, all profits from the book’s publication are being donated to The Terrence Higgins Trust, so for just £20 per paperback or a meagre £5 per Kindle edition, you can read all about great telly, and help save and improve lives in one fell swoop. You And Who Else is out now via Amazon.co.uk