Audiodrama - Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Old Friends

A glittering array of star names joins the ensemble cast alongside Christopher Eccleston in The Ninth Doctor Adventures full cast audio dramas, released this month from Big Finish...

Press Release

Several household names board the TARDIS to make their Doctor Who debut in February, in the latest box set of adventures for the Ninth incarnation of the Time Lord.

Sienna Guillory (Luther, Resident Evil, Love Actually) plays Idara, a grieving widow, in the first story, Fond Farewell, set on a planet where the recently deceased attend their own funeral. Juliet Stevenson (Riviera, Truly Madly Deeply) also guest stars as Winifred, the funeral parlour’s facility director.

In the second story, Way of the Burryman, Amanda Drew (EastEnders, The Girl Before) voices Commander Jane Wardie, head of a secret military research base. And Elinor Lawless (Casualty) returns to Big Finish Productions to play Fiona McCall, a Scottish historian and teacher. Alongside Jon Culshaw and Warren Brown, the cast also includes Charlie Hamblett, James Doherty, and Emily Taafe.

Travelling the universe alone, the Doctor can’t help running into people he has met before. Some are new acquaintances, and some have a much longer history, back through all of his lives. But every one of them knows that in the face of danger, and when the monsters arrive, there’s no better friend to have by their side.

The three incredible adventures in this box set are:

Fond Farewell by David K Barnes

Fond Farewell is the intergalactic funeral parlour with a difference: the deceased attend their own wake!

Invited by celebrated naturalist Flynn Beckett to his memorial, the Doctor finds he’s not quite the man he was. But who would steal the memories of the dead?


Way of the Burryman by Roy Gill

Young Sam Bishop is at a crossroads with girlfriend Fiona: she’s staying in Scotland and he wants to travel the world.

As the Burryman celebrations begin, ghosts haunt the Forth Bridge. Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart arrives to investigate –and so does the Doctor...


The Forth Generation by Roy Gill

The Forth Generation have emerged. The Doctor, the Brigadier, Sam and Fiona are at their mercy.

Is there a way to defeat them? Has UNIT learned from the past? And can the enemy’s nature be changed for the future?

Juliet Stevenson said: “I’m a big Doctor Who fan and to be in one is a great thrill. Although the script has a lot of fun, at the centre of this story is something very meaningful and important.”

Sienna Guillory added: “It's such a good script! It's brilliantly dynamic. That sense of intelligence drives the humour brilliantly. Idara is an extraordinary character because she's arranging an event which she has huge anxiety about. Everything is coming at her all at once and emotionally it's just immense.”

Elinor Lawless said: “I thought the scripts for these episodes were phenomenally written, beautifully crafted, and incredibly moving. I was very excited to be a part of it and to work with Big Finish again as they tell stories brilliantly.

“Being in the room with all of these larger-than-life characters has been incredibly energising and moving. The fact that people are going to be hearing this story and getting to experience that transportation themselves is magic.”

Doctor Who – The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Old Friends is now available for pre-order exclusively at the Big Finish website (www.bigfinish.com), from just £19.99.

Doctor Who fans worldwide can now order all four volumes of The Ninth Doctor Adventures series one, which are available in three formats – collector’s edition CD, digital download or limited-edition gatefold triple LP vinyl – exclusively from the Big Finish website at www.bigfinish.com.

Big Finish listeners can save money by ordering a bundle of the entire series for just £88 (as a collector’s edition box set) or £78 (as a download).

Doctor Who – The Ninth Doctor Adventures triple LP vinyls are strictly limited to a pressing of 1,000 per volume, and can be ordered at £35.99 each, or £132 for the bundle of all four albums, again exclusively at the Big Finish website.

Please note: the vinyl editions do not include any behind-the-scenes extras. However, listeners purchasing vinyl LP editions will receive a download of the story automatically and be given access to the CD edits as a bonus download. Episodes will be edited specifically for the vinyl format, presented as 2 episodes, one on each side, each with opening and closing music. In addition, all pre-orders of the vinyls will also receive the behind the extras as a bonus download.

Images & info - Big Finish