The children of Gallifrey are being recalled to fight in the Time War, and the Doctor’s granddaughter knows her moment has come. A new, full-cast audio drama, Susan’s War, is released today.

Intelligence. Intuition. Empathy. The requirements of a perfect agent to catch a spy. And, in Susan Campbell (Carole Ann Ford), the Time Lords have found all the attributes they need to give their work a veneer of respectability.

In the 2017 Big Finish Short Trip, All Hands on Deck, the Eighth Doctor tried to prevent Susan being recruited by the Time Lords on Gallifrey and dragged into the Time War. But his efforts were in vain, and now we find out what happens next...

Listen to the Introduction

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Time War: Susan's War
Starring Carole Ann Ford as Susan
With Paul McGann as the Doctor and William Russell as Ian Chesterton
Featuring Beth Chalmers as Veklin, Damain Lynch as Rasmus and Nicholas Briggs as the Daleks

Gallifrey needs every Time Lord to fight the Time War. A summons has been issued across the universe to its prodigals. Whatever their skills, the war effort can use them.

Susan’s call-up papers have arrived, and, unlike her grandfather, she is willing to join her people’s battle and finally return home.

Because Susan knows the Daleks, and she will do her duty...

Sphere of Influence by Eddie Robson
Susan’s first mission is one of diplomacy. The Sense-Sphere could prove a valuable ally to Gallifrey. But she is not the only one who knows the Sensorites of old. Susan will have the support of an old friend. Ian Chesterton is about to rejoin the adventure he left a lifetime ago!

The Uncertain Shore by Simon Guerrier
Susan and Commander Veklin are on the trail of a spy. Under cover on a ravaged world, they find a weary population, trapped, and waiting for the inevitable. But one among them is a traitor. The Time War is coming to Florana, and Susan will face a struggle to simply survive...

Assets of War by Lou Morgan
Cardinal Rasmus believes that Susan’s special abilities will help him assess a new weapons project. On a secret military base, creatures from the vortex are being bred for war. Gallifrey’s scientists think they can be used as assets against the Daleks. But the Orrovix are not easily tamed...

The Shoreditch Intervention by Alan Barnes
When Susan’s TARDIS is intercepted, she is given a highly classified mission. Earth, 1963 is a nexus point in the Time War, but the timelines must be negotiated carefully. Mods and rockers are not the only dangers on the streets of Shoreditch. In Susan’s past, the Daleks are waiting. But so is the Doctor!

Although she doesn't sometimes give the impression that she is, Susan is actually quite brave. She's been attacked by all sorts of weird and wonderful things, and she's quite happy to go launching herself off into time and space.

I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn't playing a younger Susan. Otherwise she just comes leaping back. It's difficult to eradicate. It's difficult too for the writers as they have no experience of the older Susan being portrayed anywhere.

I had an image of Susan from the special TV episode, The Five Doctors, in that trenchcoat which makes me think of her as a spy! So here we have her on diplomatic and espionage missions rather than military operations, to show another aspect of how special ops are going on behind-the-scenes in the Time War.

We wanted from the start to send the message that the Doctor isn't here to save the day, he's gone, he's been replaced by a different kind of hero. And in the unofficial Master annual, we get to explore just how successful he can be. What could be more thrilling than exploring the Master's universe, without having the Doctor there to save the day.

The Doctor suffers a bit from ‘species guilt’ in this one. The Time Lords have been responsible for the initial problem that created the rift in space they're trying to close. It always adds a layer of interest to a story when we go back to the ghastly Time Lords, who arguably could be seen as the biggest villains of the whole lot.

We went over to Eric’s empty office and talked it through – whether we could do it justice – not just because of the time period, as we had experience of that kind of speed on American series – but because we were being asked to wrap up thirteen episodes. If people have watched it that long, there’s an expectation that has to be satisfied – this has got to be it. We had three days in the end – two to write, and one to type up from out longhand, which we always write in, and collate everything.

Also there is an amazing secret Thing we haven't announced yet.

Please note that Big Finish is currently operating a digital-first release schedule. The mailout of collector’s edition CDs will be delayed, but all purchases of this release unlock a digital copy that can be immediately downloaded or played on the Big Finish app from the release date.

When Shaun at Candy Jar asked me to work on this story I was honoured. I’ve been enjoying and appreciating the work of some of my favourite writers and other creative professionals while stuck at home, including the team at Doctor Who, so I know how magic an escape right now can be. The chance to contribute something small to that brilliant effort was pretty special.

Shaun already had a lot of great ideas for how to tell the story, including the new menace our heroes have to face, and getting it written was a lot of fun. I took the chance to grapple with my own lockdown demons, some sock related, take a moment to appreciate the marvels of modern technology, and of course salute the people who are working so hard to keep us safe right now, including all of you at home. I hope you enjoy Lucy and Hobo’s new adventure, and thanks to Candy Jar for giving me the opportunity to do my little bit.

When Richard Brewer sent us the message from the Brig we contacted him straight away to ask if we could share it with our readers. Richard agreed and we are pleased to present this long-lost UNIT message to Doctor Who fans.