Big Finish licence renewed until 2025

Friday, 6 May 2016 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Big Finish have announced that their licence to produce Doctor Who and Torchwood audio dramas has been extended to 2025.

Head of Audio Publishing at BBC Worldwide, Jan Paterson said:

We very much look forward to continuing to work with Big Finish over the coming years; the high standards of their productions — quality scripts, impeccable sound design and music, and impressive casting that utilises some of the country’s biggest stars — are a reflection of the care and thought that goes into every audio.

Big Finish's Executive Producer, Jason Haigh-Ellery, said:

It is very rare that a production company is given the luxury of being able to plan so far ahead. Thanks to the faith placed in Big Finish by the BBC we can look forward to many years of story progression and real character development for the Doctors and their companions. We are excited about what the future holds and look forward to the next decade of adventures travelling in time and space.

Nicholas Briggs, who as well as Executive Producer also voices the Daleks, said:

It’s been with me all my life in one form or another. So it’s truly delightful for me that the good old BBC has given us permission to carry on space-time travelling.

Producer David Richardson added:

It’s such an honour for us to tell new stories in the worlds of Doctor Who and Torchwood. The possibilities truly are endless, the potential for ideas is infinite. It’s a wonderful feeling when we have been doing this for seventeen years, yet feel like we’ve only just begun and that the best is yet to come.'

Forthcoming highlights from Big Finish include the return of David Tennant and Catherine Tate as the tenth Doctor and Donna Noble in The Tenth Doctor Adventures, and John Hurt returns as the War Doctor in another box sets, whilst the "classic" Doctors - as played Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann - continue their regular adventures. Current spin-offs include Alex Kingston as archaeologist River Song, Jemma Redgrave and Ingrid Oliver as Kate Stewart and Osgood, and Christopher Benjamin, Trevor Baxter and Dan Starkey as Jago, Litefoot and Strax.

FILTER: - Big Finish - Press

Competition Roundup

Tuesday, 3 May 2016 - Reported by Chuck Foster

A roundup of competitions from Doctor Who News that readers may enter:

The Fourth Doctor Adventures: The Paradox Planet/Legacy of Death

The fourth Doctor continues his adventures alongside Romana and K-9:

Whilst travelling in the vortex, the TARDIS is struck by an advanced war machine - a Time Tank! Losing Romana, the Doctor and K9 pursue the Tank to Aoris, a world quite literally at war with itself. Soldiers from the future are attacking the past of their own planet - gathering resources and stealing endangered species. But the past is not without weapons of its own - leaving deadly devices ready to trigger many years ahead after their enemies have been born. Trapped at opposite ends of a temporal war, the Time Lords have two time zones to save. But who is in the right, and who in the wrong? And when history itself is against you, can anybody actually win?

To be in with a chance to win a digital download of the audio adventure courtesy of Big Finish, simply answer the following question:

Name another war that that the fourth Doctor, Romana and K9 found themselves involved in.

Please send your answer along with your name and the email address you have registered with Big Finish, plus where you heard about the competition (news site, news app, other website, etc.) to comp-bf4d@doctorwhonews.net with the subject "Fight the Future". The competition is open worldwide, closing date 15th May 2016. Note: entrants must have an active registration with Big Finish in order to be eligible to receive the prize - new registrations can be easily created on the website for free and with no financial obligation.

BBC Books: In The Blood

The latest literary adventure for the Doctor from BBC Books is In The Blood by Jenny T Colgan:

All over the world, people are venting their fury at one another on social media. Dropping their friends, giving vent to their hatred, and everyone behaving with incredible cruelty. Even Donna has found that her friend Hettie, with her seemingly perfect life and fancy house, has unfriended her. And now, all over the world, internet trolls are dying... As more and more people give in to this wave of bitterness and aggression, it's clear this is no simple case of modern living. This is unkindness as a plague. From the streets of London to the web cafes of South Korea and the deepest darkest forests of Rio, can the Doctor and Donna find the cause of this unhappiness before it's too late?

To be in with a chance to win the book courtesy of BBC Books, simply answer the following question:

What did Donna refer to as an "Outer Space Facebook"?

Please send your answers along with your name, address and where you heard about the competition (news site, news app, other website, etc.) to comp-intheblood@doctorwhonews.net with the subject "Like". The competition is open to UK readers only, closing date 15th May 2016. Only one entry per household will be accepted.

Silva Screen: Radiophonic Workshop 21

Silva Screen have re-released the BBC Radiophonic Workshop's 21st anniversary album on CD:

In 1958 the BBC Radiophonic Workshop opened with the aim to enhance in the main, drama output on the Third Programme (now Radio 3) following the development of new electronic music techniques emanating from Europe. Their work expanded across the BBC to take in TV drama (especially sci-fi), schools programmes and themes. The latter being their most celebrated and well known work, Delia Derbyshire's treatment of Ron Grainer's theme for Doctor Who. This collection, originally released by BBC Records in 1979 to celebrate 21 years of the workshop appears for the first time in its full original form on CD. From The Goons (Bloodnocks Stomach) to the Interval Signal to Doctor Who and Great Zoos Of The World this is a fascinating chronicle of some of the most innovative music ever made. These ground-breaking compositions providing a major influence on music from The Beatles and Pink Floyd and onwards into the contemporary world of Aphex Twin, Orbital and The Chemical Brothers. "The Radiophonic Workshop, I loved all that, it fascinated me, and still does”. - Paul McCartney.

To be in with a chance to win the CD courtesy of Silva Screen, simply answer the following question:

Who wrote the incidental music for the Doctor Who story which featured Paul McCartney?

Please send your answers along with your name, address and where you heard about the competition (news site, news app, other website, etc.) to comp-silvascreen@doctorwhonews.net with the subject "In tune". The competition is open to UK readers only, closing date 15th May 2016. Only one entry per household will be accepted.

BBC Audio

It is still possible to enter our competitions for the BBC Audios Death to the Daleks, The Invasion, Shadow in the Glass, Amorality Tale and The Memory of Winter, which are open to readers worldwide until 8th May 2016 - see our article for full details.

FILTER: - Audio - BBC Books - Big Finish - Books - Competitions - Music

Bernice Summerfield Unbound

Thursday, 3 March 2016 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Lisa Bowerman, David Warner and Mark Gatiss (Credit: Big Finish)

Big Finish have announced a new series for the character that first launched their audio range, Professor Bernice Summerfield, this time teamed up with a rather different third incarnation of the Doctor, first introduced in the Unbound stories Sympathy for the Devil and Masters of War, as played by David Warner.

Doctor Who – The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield Volume 3: The Unbound Universe will see the universe's greatest archaeologist recruited by the Doctor for a mission to his parallel dimension – where together they set off to explore the aftermath of a disaster that has laid waste to reality. Benny and the Doctor will face the Kareem, the Blanks, Unicorns and the Sisters of Saint Beedlix – as a terrible truth awaits them at the end of reality.

Producer James Goss said:

We were trying to work out where we could take Benny next, and the idea just sort of happened. We immediately got very excited about it. David Warner is a legend, and his Doctor is the perfect foil to Lisa Bowerman. Whereas Benny is a famously gung-ho adventuress, he's a cautious man with a twinkle in his eye. She falls into his universe and gives him a new lease of life.

We were very lucky with the guest cast – we've a wealth of national treasures. Not only do we have David Warner, we've got Radio 4 newsreader Zeb Soanes; we've Dr Gillian Magwidle herself – Julie Graham.

Another returnee for this series is the Master, as played by Sam Kisgart aka Mark Gatiss; Goss explained:

Kisgart's Master originally featured in David Warner's first adventure, Sympathy For The Devil, and we couldn't leave him out of this boxset. We contacted Mark, who said that Sam would be available. Well, once panto season was over.

The series has been directed by long term Benny-associate Scott Handcock, who said:

Lisa and David have a brilliant chemistry – it's a very different Doctor/Companion relationship. Benny really is the adventurer, dragging the Doctor along behind her. When we first meet him, he's given up all hope – but Benny is determined to, quite literally, save the universe. The guest cast are marvellous – it's a hoot. Kisgart has never been more sinister.

The other three episodes in the set have been written by Guy Adams, Una McCormack and Emma Reeves. Guest stars in the box-set include Rowena Cooper, Zeb Soanes, Tom Webster, Alex Jordan, Sophie Wu, Julie Graham, Kerry Gooderson, Deirdre Mullins, George Blagden, Richard Earl, Aaron Neil, Laura Doddington, Lizzie Hopley, Shvorne Marks and Gus Brown.

Doctor Who – The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield Volume 3: The Unbound Universe is due to be released in August 2016, and can be pre-ordered from the Big Finish website. CD orders direct from the company will also include a digital copy for download.

FILTER: - Audio - Big Finish - Merchandise

Big Finish: more River Song, Churchill and Monsters for 2017

Monday, 29 February 2016 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Big Finish have announced second volumes for a number of their new Doctor Who-related audio series:

Time travelling archaeologist and adventurer River Song will return on audio in 2017 – and this time she will be stepping into the past life of the Doctor, encountering two of his incarnations at once! Alex Kingston returns in The Diary of River Song: Volume 2 from Big Finish Productions, a Doctor Who spin-off that is licensed by BBC Worldwide.

From the space exploration vessel Saturnius – which is heading to a destination that never gets any closer – to a doomed planet Earth and beyond, River’s journey will bring her closer to a new foe... and an encounter with both the Sixth and Seventh Doctors.

Producer David Richardson said:

We’re thrilled to have both Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy appearing alongside Alex in this box set. I can promise that River and the Doctor might not necessarily be working to the same agenda. In fact, the two Doctors might not be working to the same agenda either...

The four hour-long adventures are The Unknown by Guy Adams, Five Twenty Nine by John Dorney, World Enough and Time by James Goss and Eye of the Storm by Matt Fitton. The impressive guest cast includes Anna Maxwell Martin (Midwinter of the Spirit, And Then There Were None, The Bletchley Circle), Jessie Buckley (War and Peace), Ann Bell (Tenko, Wallander), Robert Pugh (Game of Thrones, Mr Selfridge, Doctor Foster), Dan Starkey (Doctor Who, Wizards vs Aliens) and Barnaby Edwards (Doctor Who).

2017 will also see the release of a second volume of Doctor Who – The Churchill Years, in which Ian McNeice returns in the role of Winston Churchill – once again relating more terrifying adventures that featured his old friend the Doctor.

Also returning for a second volume is Doctor Who: Classic Doctors, New Monsters, in which legacy Doctors battle foes from the post-2005 series. Expect a return for some of the Doctor’s darkest and most terrifying enemies...

The series are produced by David Richardson, script edited by Matt Fitton, directed by Ken Bentley and Barnaby Edwards and the executive producers are Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs.

The Diary of River Song: Volume 2, The Churchill Years: Volume 2 and Doctor Who: Classic Doctors, New Monsters: Volume 2 can all be pre-ordered individually or as part of a bundle at the Big Finish website. Alex Kingston also returns as River Song in Doctor Who: Doom Coalition 2 alongside Paul McGann, Nicola Walker and Hattie Morahan, which is released in March 2016.

The first volumes of The Diary of River Song and The Churchill Years are currently available. Doctor Who: Classic Doctors, New Monsters: Volume 1 is released in July.

FILTER: - Audio - Big Finish

Big Finish: Fourth Doctor Adventures finale

Wednesday, 24 February 2016 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Big Finish have announced details on the finale to current series of the Fourth Doctor Adventures, which stars Tom Baker, Lalla Ward and John Leeson.

Returning to the series is the character of Cuthbert, as played by David Warner, and his faithful assistant Mr Dorrick (Toby Hadoke), who were last seen in the Series Two finale The Final Phase. Also from that series are the race of aliens known as the Laan (Jane Slavin), who also hailed from the Series 2 episodes The Sands of Life and War Against The Laan.

Also appearing from the television series itself is somebody the Doctor and Romana have been trying to avoid for some time - the Black Guardian, with the embodiment of darkness taken on here by David Troughton.

The Pursuit Of History (Credit: Big Finish)

The Pursuit Of History / Casualties Of Time

Written and directed by Nicholas Briggs
Released July/August 2016

Starring Tom Baker as The Doctor, with Lalla Ward as Romana and John Leeson as K9, and featuring David Warner as Cuthbert, Toby Hadoke as Mr Horrick, and David Troughton as the Black Guardian

On a brisk winter’s morning in 1850s Yorkshire, Cuthbert, head of the intergalactic business known as 'The Conglomerate' prepares to hijack a very special train.

In the far future, his assistant, Mr Dorrick is awoken by howling alarms. There is a problem with the Quantum Gateway.

In the TARDIS, the Doctor, Romana and K9 detect strange distortions in the Vortex, an energy stream coming from a strange creature called a Laan.

The threads of a plan centuries in the making are coming together. But who is behind this plan? And can anyone possibly escape when history is against them?

FILTER: - Audio - Big Finish - Fourth Doctor

Competition Roundup

Tuesday, 23 February 2016 - Reported by Chuck Foster

A roundup of further competitions from Doctor Who News that readers may enter:

The Fourth Doctor Adventures: The Labyrinth of Buda Castle

The fourth Doctor continues his adventures alongside Romana and K-9:

The Doctor and Romana land in Budapest, intent on enjoying another holiday, but shortly after landing they find themselves too late to save the life of a man who has seemingly been attacked by a vampire. As they learn that this is the latest in a series of violent attacks, it becomes clear that they have stumbled onto something that needs investigating. Aided by a vampire hunter who is searching for Dracula, they look into the nearby Buda caves, currently being used for storage by the military - and find that the soldiers have problems of their own. Stalked through the tunnels by a monster, and up against an ancient evil, the race is on to escape alive - and foil the dastardly schemes of the maniacal Zoltan Frid.

The Labyrinth Of Buda Castle (Credit: Big Finish)

To be in with a chance to win a digital download of the audio adventure courtesy of Big Finish, simply answer the following question:

In which televised story did the Doctor first encounter "Dracula"?

Please send your answer along with your name and the email address you have registered with Big Finish, plus where you heard about the competition (news site, news app, other website, etc.) to comp-bf4d@doctorwhonews.net with the subject "Everything at stake". The competition is open worldwide, closing date 6th March 2016. Note: entrants must have an active registration with Big Finish in order to be eligible to receive the prize - new registrations can be easily created on the website for free and with no financial obligation.

BBC Books: 365 Days of Memorable Moments and Impossible Things

BBC Books are to publish a book examining notable events in Doctor Who during the course of a year next month:

For over half a century, Doctor Who has entertained and enthralled fans with the time-travelling adventures of the Doctor and his companions. From that first glimpse of a police telephone box in a Totter's Lane junkyard, to meeting terrifying villains such as the Daleks or the Weeping Angels, to the fall of the Doctor's home planet Gallifrey, the beloved series has provided a near-inexhaustible list of indelible memories. This book is a unique and captivating day-by-day chronicle of those memories. In this fascinating compilation of fictional and historical events from the world's longest running science-fiction show. Doctor Who expert Justin Richards revisits iconic characters, thrilling plot twists and memorable battles, as well as sharing bonus behind-the-scenes secrets from both the classic and new series.

365 Days of Memorable Moments and Impossible Things (Credit: BBC Books)

To be in with a chance to win the book courtesy of BBC Books, simply answer the following question:

The Doctor has on occasion chronicled his own adventures, making reference to them a number of times during his earlier incarnations, but what did he use to do so?

Please send your answers along with your name, address and where you heard about the competition (news site, news app, other website, etc.) to comp-365days@doctorwhonews.net with the subject "One day I shall read back". The competition is open to UK readers only, closing date 6th March 2016. Only one entry per household will be accepted.

BBC Audio: The Space Museum

The next classic novelisation adaptation for 2016 sees the first Doctor catch a glimpse of his own possible future in The Space Museum:

The TARDIS materialises on what, at first sight, appears to be a dry and lifeless planet serving only as a graveyard for spaceships. The Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Vicki discover a magnificent museum housing relics from every corner of the galaxy. These have been assembled by the Moroks, a race of cruel conquerors who have invaded the planet Xeros and enslaved its inhabitants. Upon further exploration the TARDIS crew seem to stumble upon the impossible: for suddenly, facing them in an exhibit case, they find...themselves!

Doctor Who: The Space Museum (Credit: BBC Audio)

To be in with a chance to win the audiobook courtesy of BBC Audio, simply answer the following question:

Having been grabbed by Xeron rebels, the Doctor promptly escapes them by hiding in an an unusual way - what does he do?

Please send your answers along with your name, address and where you heard about the competition (news site, news app, other website, etc.) to comp-target@doctorwhonews.net with the subject "The Xerons are revolting". The competition is open worldwide, closing date 6th March 2016. Only one entry per household will be accepted.

FILTER: - BBC Audio - BBC Books - Big Finish - Competitions

Big Finish: regular range during 2016

Tuesday, 23 February 2016 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Big Finish have released details on what to expect in their regular monthly range of adventures for the Doctor.

The first quarter of the year features the fifth Doctor and companions, with Peter Davison, Janet Fielding and Sarah Sutton reprising their roles as they encounter Rembrandt, a mysterious apparently abandoned spaceship, and a bad time in Manchester's history:

Waters of Amsterdam (Credit: Big Finish)

Starring Peter Davison as the Doctor, with Janet Fielding as Tegan and Sarah Sutton as Nyssa
Written by Jonathan Morris, directed by Jamie Anderson
Released January 2016 [order]

Reunited with the Doctor and Nyssa, Tegan joins them on a trip to Amsterdam's Rijkmuseum to see a new exhibition of the work of Rembrandt van Rijn, featuring his drawings of “Vessels of the Stars”. The Doctor is astonished to discover that they are designs for spaceships that would actually work, and decides to pop back to the Dutch Golden Age for a quiet word with Rembrandt – but the world-weary artist is no mood to help.

Meanwhile, strange forces are swirling in the canals, creatures from ancient myth, the watery, goblin-like Nix. What is their connection to the mysterious Countess Mach-Teldak – and to the events of Tegan’s life during her year away from the Doctor?

Starring Peter Davison as the Doctor, with Janet Fielding as Tegan and Sarah Sutton as Nyssa
Written by Simon Barnard & Paul Morris, directed by Ken Bentley
Released February 2016 [order]

Today should be much like every other day for Hargreaves, the computer consciousness that co-ordinates daily life aboard the spaceship Aquitaine, stationed on the outer fringes of a black hole. Water the plants, run the diagnostics, cook the Captain’s breakfast; then tidy the plates away, rotate the ship, clean the windows of the observation deck. When at last the day’s work is done, Hargreaves will dim the lights in the sleeping quarters. But no-one will sleep aboard the Aquitaine tonight. Because the Aquitaine’s crew is missing.

But today will be different. Today, a space/time ship called the TARDIS will materialise in the botanical section, bringing the Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan aboard the Aquitaine. Together, they’ll seek to discover the truth of what happened to Hargreaves’ crew...

... if only the ghosts will let them.

The Peterloo Massacre (Credit: Big Finish)

Starring Peter Davison as the Doctor, with Janet Fielding as Tegan and Sarah Sutton as Nyssa
Written by Paul Magrs, directed by Jamie Anderson
Released March 2016 [pre-order]

"They say there’ll be thousands pouring into Manchester tomorrow. From all over the county, north and south. It’ll be a piece of history. People will remember this!"

Lost in the smog of the Industrial Revolution, the TARDIS crashes four miles south of Manchester, in the grounds of Hurley Hall – a grand mansion belonging to a local factory owner, a proudly self-made man. But while Hurley dreams of growing richer still on the wealth of secret knowledge locked up in the Doctor’s time and space machine, his servants hope only for a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. His young maid Cathy, for instance, whom Nyssa learns is looking forward to joining the working people’s march to St Peter’s Field, in the heart of the city. There’ll be speeches and banners and music. It’ll be like one big jamboree…

Or so she thinks. For the city’s establishment have called in their own private militia, to control the crowd. One of the darkest days in Manchester’s history is about to unfold – and the Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan are right in the thick of it.

The second quarter provides a new encounter with the Masters ... with the fifth Doctor encountering an earlier incarnation (Geoffrey Beevers) in April, followed by the sixth Doctor embroiled with the recent (Alex Macqueen) in May, before the seventh Doctor finds himself recruited by both in June!

And You Will Obey Me (Credit: Big Finish)

Starring Peter Davison as the Doctor, with Geoffrey Beevers as the Master
Written by Alan Barnes, directed by Jamie Anderson
Released April 2016 [pre-order]

The Master: wanted for crimes without number, across five galaxies.

The Master: escaped his pursuers. Last known location: rural Hexford, England, Earth.

The Master: dead and buried in an unmourned grave, in a lonely churchyard.

Apparently.

Vampire Of The Mind (Credit: Big Finish)

Starring Colin Baker as the Doctor, with Alex Macqueen as the Master
Written by Justin Richards, directed by Jamie Anderson
Released May 2016 [pre-order]

Somewhere off the South Coast of England, there’s a lonely island. On that island stands a solitary castle, long since abandoned – haunted, they say. But the truth is, that castle houses something far worse than mere ghosts.

The castle is what lies at the end of a trail followed by the Doctor in search of several missing scientists – all of them connected to the top secret Dominus Institute and its elusive CEO, Sir Andrew Gobernar…

But the Doctor will soon discover that he’s the one being haunted, by a ghost from his past… or perhaps, his future.

Starring Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor, with Geoffrey Beevers and Alex Macqueen as the Master
Written by John Dorney, directed by Jamie Anderson
Released June 2016 [pre-order]

The future is dying. All over the universe, gaps are beginning to appear. From the space lanes terrorised by the rag-tag remnants of the once-mighty Rocket Men, to the empire of the Gorlans, stricken by a terrible civil war. Gaps in space/time, portents of the end of everything.

Only three beings might prevent it. The Doctor, a renegade Time Lord from Gallifrey. The Master, another renegade Time Lord from Gallifrey. And another Master, yet another renegade Time Lord from Gallifrey.

One Doctor. Two Masters. What could possibly go wrong?

The summer sees Sylvester McCoy reunited with Bonnie Langford and Sophie Aldred as the seventh Doctor, Mel and Ace embark on a new trilogy of adventures, A Life of Crime, Fiesta of the Damned and Maker of Demons. Then as autumn and winter descends, the fifth Doctor returns in an anthology The Memory Bank and Other Stories, whilst Colin Baker and Miranda Raison return as the Doctor and Constance for a trilogy to round off the year, Order, Absolute Power and Quicksilver.

FILTER: - Audio - Big Finish - Fifth Doctor - Seventh Doctor - Sixth Doctor

Big Finish audios to be released in Germany

Friday, 20 November 2015 - Reported by Pascal Salzmann

German book distributer Bastei Lübbe is going to release audio adventures of Big Finish on the German market in 2016. In its recent sales magazine for German bookstores, Lübbe announced six releases for 11th March 2016. All stories will be in English and priced 14.99 EUR.

Stories announced so far:

The Light at the End by Nicholas Briggs
Blood of the Daleks Part 1 by Steve Lyons
Blood of the Daleks Part 2 by Steve Lyons
The Juggernauts by Scott Allen Woodard
Destination Nerva by Nicholas Briggs
Short Trips - Volume 1 by Scott Allen Woodard

So far it is not known whether these releases are a one-off or if Lübbe plans to continue the releases on a regular basis. A spokesperson from Lübbe told Doctor Who News that they cannot announce further plans right now but that there will be more Big Finish releases should these audios sell well.

Bastei LÃ¼bbe ad (Credit: Bastei Luebbe)

FILTER: - Big Finish - Germany

Tenth Doctor and Donna team up for Big Finish

Monday, 26 October 2015 - Reported by Marcus

Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble (Credit: Big Finish)

The Tenth Doctor and Donna are returning, in a new set of audio adventures for Big Finish.

Next year David Tennant will be returning to his role as the Tenth doctor, alongside Catherine Tate as his companion Donna Noble in three, hour long Doctor Who audio dramas.

David Tennant portrayed the Doctor on screen from 2005 until 1 January 2010, returning to play alongside Matt Smith and John Hurt in the 50th Anniversary special The Day of the Doctor in 2013. Catherine Tate made her début as Donna in December 2006, and after a series and two festive specials she made her last appearance alongside Tennant on 1 January 2010.

Their on-screen partnership is regarded by many as one of the high-points of the series. Big Finish Executive Producer Jason Haigh-Ellery said

I still remember the sense of joy I had when I heard that David had been asked to play the Doctor. We were all so pleased for him — as we knew how much Doctor Who meant to him. And now David comes full circle, back doing Doctor Who with Big Finish — except that this time he’s playing the Doctor! It’s the same but different — it’s wonderful to have him back.

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor Adventures will be released in May 2016 and comprises three full cast audio adventures. The set opens with Technophobia by Matt Fitton, which is set in London slightly in the future, where mankind is gradually losing its ability to use everyday technology. Could there be an evil force at work?

In Time Reaver by Jenny T Colgan the Doctor and Donna arrive on Calibris - "An entirely mechanical planet. Catch, hitch, fuel, fix, buy, pretty much any kind of transportation in existence. It’s also a world full of scoundrels, where a deadly black market has opened up in a device known only as the Time Reaver". Finally, in Death and the Queen by James Goss, Donna is swept along in a fairytale romance and meets the man of her dreams in the beautiful land of Goritania. What can possibly go wrong? And why has the Doctor never heard of Goritania?

Executive Producer Nicholas Briggs said

I’ve enjoyed working with all the Doctors on TV, but David is on the only one I’d known before he became the Doctor. I’d worked with him on our Dalek Empire series for Big Finish and had such fun. So along with the excitement of directing new Tenth Doctor adventures, I’m so happy to be working with an old chum again.

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor Adventures is produced by David Richardson, script edited by Matt Fitton and James Goss and directed by Nicholas Briggs.

Producer David Richardson said

This is one of those dream projects where I’ve spent months pinching myself. I’m covered in bruises. With two major international stars in place, and the legacy of this era of the TV show to live up to, we’ve worked our socks off to try and make some very special stories for this box set. Expect adventure, fun, scares… and some tears too.

The Tenth Doctor & Donna Return

FILTER: - Big Finish - Tenth Doctor

Return of the War Doctor

Monday, 5 October 2015 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Big Finish have announced a new range of adventures in the Doctor Who universe, this time focussing on the mysterious 'other' Doctor who fought in the Time War:

DOCTOR WHO: THE WAR DOCTOR RETURNS!

JOHN HURT, THE WORLD-RENOWNED STAR OF FILM AND TELEVISION, IS RETURNING TO THE ROLE OF THE WAR DOCTOR, IN 12 FULL CAST DOCTOR WHO AUDIO PLAYS.

The War Doctor: Only The Monstrous (Credit: Big Finish)

The War Doctor was introduced for Doctor Who’s Fiftieth Anniversary, and played a key part in the record-breaking television special The Day of the Doctor, alongside David Tennant and Matt Smith’s Doctors. He is the secret incarnation of the Time Lord — but he has shunned the title ‘Doctor’ in order to fight in the Time War against the Daleks.

Big Finish's executive producer Jason Haigh-Ellery said:

I have been a huge fan of John since first seeing him in the repeats of I, Claudius in the 1980s and in his Oscar-nominated role as the eponymous The Elephant Man. Watching his performance in The Day of the Doctor I did find myself fantasising that some far off day we might have the chance to work with him on the audio adventures of Doctor Who and now two short years later it’s happened! John wove a fantastic character together from a great script by Steven Moffat. Now we have the chance to get to know that character more and hear John stretch in the role. We’re all in for a hell of a ride as the War Doctor engages in battle. But who are the greater threat — the Daleks or the Time Lords?

The audio adventures of The War Doctor will be told over four box sets, each containing three linked hour-long episodes. The first box set is entitled Only The Monstrous, and is written and directed by Nicholas Briggs, whose many successes for Big Finish include the BBC Audio Award-winning masterpiece Doctor Who: Dark Eyes. Nicholas commented:

The story of the Doctor who refuses to call himself the Doctor in order to do the unthinkable upon the ultimate battlefield — all of space and time — was irresistible to me. Such a deeply disturbing and engaging character created by the formidable talents of writer Steven Moffat and actor John Hurt. It’s such a privilege to be working on this.

The cast of The War Doctor also includes Jacqueline Pearce, who plays Time Lord Cardinal Ollistra — an arch manipulator who is waging the Time War against the Daleks. Jacqueline’s work includes Blake's 7, The Avengers, Callan, Moondial, Russell T Davies’ Dark Season, and from her own appearance in Doctor Who as Chessene in The Two Doctors.

Only The Monstrous will be released in December 2015, and will be followed in February 2016 by the second volume, Infernal Devices, which is written by John Dorney, Phil Mulryne and Matt Fitton.

Volumes Three and Four are currently in pre-production.

Producer David Richardson said:

What an utter privilege it is to work with such an iconic actor, playing such a brilliantly devised role. This is Doctor Who at its darkest — the era in which our hero casts aside his core values in order to try and save the galaxy in its most terrible hour. We promise bold and brilliant story-telling with gripping character drama, and epic and cinematic audio productions.

In addition to The War Doctor, November 2017 also sees a prequel box set to the saga Doctor Who: The Eighth Doctor — The Time War, which will follow the early stages of the Time War from the Eighth Doctor’s perspective. Paul McGann stars, alongside characters first introduced in the War Doctor box sets.