First look at Christopher Eccleston’s Doctor Who return – and new companions – revealed

Called Doctor Who – The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Ravagers, the first box set of adventures will contain three stories called Sphere of Freedom, Cataclysm and Food Fight, all written by longtime Big Finish creator (and voice of the Daleks in the main Doctor Who series) Nicholas Briggs.

The box set (the first of four currently planned) will be released in May 2021, and will also apparently see Eccleston pick up one or more new companions for his adventures, which are presumably set before he started travelling with Billie Piper’s Rose in the main series.

“Joining Christopher Eccleston on his first audio odyssey through time and space are Camilla Beeput as Nova, a galley chef from the Sphere of Freedom enlisted by the Doctor to stop a dastardly plan, and Jayne McKenna (pictured) as Audrey, the oldest gamer in Freedom City (although there may be more to her than meets the eye),” Big Finish said in a release.

Sounds intriguing - though whether these characters will be full-fledged companions or one-off helpers is currently less clear. Watch this space (and time)...

The box set (see cover art below) will last 240 minutes total, and will apparently include special behind-the-scenes features (except on vinyl pressings of the drama).

“It was lovely coming back to play the role again, due to Nicholas's writing,” Eccleston said of his return.

“I was surprised at how very quickly I seemed to recall the choices I made fifteen years ago. It was an odd experience; the Ninth Doctor's still hanging around.”

“It’s been an honour working with Chris again – it’s truly thrilling to hear him in studio, inhabiting the Ninth Doctor like he'd never been away!” said Nicholas Briggs.

“Writing and directing Doctor Who stories never gets old for me, and I’m so excited for people to hear what we’ve been up to.

“It's been a delight to kick off The Ninth Doctor Adventures series with Chris, and I know that my fellow writers and directors are cooking up some great stuff for the next box set.”

And if fans can’t wait for those too, they can now pre-order all four volumes from the Big Finish website (in three formats on CD, vinyl or digital download), for £78 as a download, £88 as a collector’s edition box set or £132 for all four limited-edition vinyl pressings (which are £35.99 each).

Now, surely we can get something for £9.99?

Doctor Who – The Ninth Doctor Adventures Vol. 1 will be released in May 2021, and can be pre-ordered for £24.99 from the Big Finish website now.

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