To celebrate 16 years to the day since Doctor Who returned to our screens, Big Finish Productions has released the first trailer for Christopher Eccleston’s comeback in the Whoniverse. Eccleston’s fantastic performance as the Ninth Doctor back in 2005 ensured that the sci-fi show lived on in the 21st century, although the actor elected to only do one season in the TARDIS. But now he’s back for more adventures, with his first audio boxset for Big Finish coming in a couple of months.
Any Who fans are sure to get goosebumps when they watch the trailer, which you can find in the player above, and hear Eccleston playing the Doctor for the time in a decade and a half. Though she’s also done a lot of work for Big Finish, Billie Piper won’t be appearing as Rose Tyler opposite Eccleston for this first volume of The Ninth Doctor Adventures, which is titled Ravagers. Instead, Nine will find himself allied with two new companions – Nova (Camilla Beeput) and Audrey (Jayne McKenna).
Here are the synopses for the three stories that comprise the boxset, as written by Nicholas Briggs – the voice of the Daleks in the TV series.
Sphere of Freedom – On the Sphere of Freedom, the Doctor is about to shut down an evil Immersive Games business empire. He’s assisted by a valiant galley chef called Nova. But his plan spectacularly fails… And who exactly is Audrey?
Cataclysm – Nova is dislocated in time while the Time Eddies are out of control. Meanwhile, the Doctor is about to face the end of the universe. Or is that just the Battle of Waterloo?
Food Fight – The TARDIS is starting to get a little crowded! Audrey finds herself haunted by a ghostly Doctor.
Four volumes are all set to be released over the next year, each containing three stories. Once the arc is complete, then, this will almost double the number of times Eccleston has played the Doctor. He originally starred in all 13 episodes of season 1 of the revived series, before he regenerated into David Tennant. Hopefully he’ll become a regular player for Big Finish after this, though. Could we even get him in a multi-Doctor audio special at some point? Fingers crossed.
As for the TV show, Jodie Whittaker is filming what could be her final season right now and Doctor Who season 13 is expected to hit screens later this year. Meanwhile, The Ninth Doctor Adventures – Ravagers is due out this May. Pre-order it here.