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Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies may be synonymous with the venerable sci-fi franchise thanks to his two stints on the show, but it's not the note he wants to go out on - literally - jokingly begging "please don't" play the Doctor Who theme song at his funeral.

Davies' altogether good-natured quip, which comes from a BFI Flare Screen Talk interview, certainly qualifies as a bit of gallows humor. The subject stems from a heartwarming place, however, as the producer recounted an anecdote from the funeral of a dear friend whose memorial service included a tribute that brought him a swirl of emotion.

"Recently I went to the funeral of a lovely man in [fondly-remembered British TV soap opera] Crossroads, Tony Adams who played Adam Chance in Crossroads. He died. He was a good old age, he was 80-odd. Lovely man," Davies explained. "I'd written a drama about Crossroads called Nolly, about how the lead actor was sacked, and so he was my main point of research. Delightful man - funny, gossipy, lovely, honest. I really became a friend of his during the making of that show. And he passed away so I went to his funeral, and to my horror and delight, as the coffin passed through the curtains, they played the Crossroads theme tune."

If you're wondering if that would be music appropriate for the funeral, take a listen and decide for yourself.

"For starters, please don't do that with Doctor Who when I die. Please don't do it!" Davies quipped, before going on to explain how the odd nature of hearing a song from a TV soap opera playing at a funeral became an enlightening experience for him.

"It was such a magnificent moment, because I sat there thinking, 'This is both really sad, and really hilarious, and camp. It's a television soap opera," Davies reminisced. "But actually, what I'd never realized, genuinely…I've never listened to that theme tune properly, despite having heard it a hundred thousand times. Those of you of a certain age will know what I mean. And actually when you play it in a formal setting like a funeral, that theme tune actually became beautiful."

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