The Ninth Doctor Adventures, announced in August 2020, is a Big Finish Productions audio play series based on the television series Doctor Who. It sees the return of Christopher Eccleston reprising his role as the Ninth Doctor and will span four boxsets comprising an entire audio season that was released between May 2021 and February 2022. A second audio season of four more boxsets followed in 2022 and 2023; a third audio season of four followed in 2023 and 2024.[1][2][3][4]
| The Ninth Doctor Adventures | |
|---|---|
| Big Finish Productions audio drama | |
| Series | Doctor Who |
| Featuring | |
| Executive producer(s) | |
| Release date | May 2021 |
History
The Ninth Doctor, as portrayed by actor Christopher Eccleston, first appeared in 2005 for the relaunch of Doctor Who. Eccleston is notable for portraying The Doctor for one series before departing. Since, Eccleston had vowed never to return to the science fiction series, even declining to portray the character in the fiftieth anniversary special "The Day of the Doctor" due to his feelings that the story "didn't do the character any justice" and felt the BBC still owed him an apology.[5]
In 2018 the actor stated about his exit, “What happened around Doctor Who almost destroyed my career... I gave them a hit show and I left with dignity and then they put me on a blacklist. I was carrying my own insecurities as it was something I had never done before and then I was abandoned, vilified in the tabloid press and blacklisted.”[3][4]
As of August 2020, Eccleston, having felt healed from meeting fans at conventions and their feelings towards his portrayal of The Doctor, ultimately agreed to participate with Big Finish after discussions with Big Finish co-chairman, Jason Haigh-Ellery.[2] Eccleston, in response to his return, stated “After 15 years, it will be exciting to revisit the Ninth Doctor’s world, bringing back to life a character I love playing.”[1]
A second season was announced on 13 September 2021.[6] Subsequently, a third season was announced on 9 March 2023.[7]
Production
Nicholas Briggs revealed that he would direct some episodes of the series and that other directors would also be involved. He also revealed he has written a story but was not sure if the BBC would accept it.[8] Christopher Eccleston posted a picture on Instagram showing him holding the script, which revealed title of the first episode, Sphere of Freedom, and writer Nicholas Briggs.[9]
Cast
Main cast
This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in at least one season.
- A green cell indicates the actor is a main cast member.
- A red cell indicates the actor is a recurring guest cast member.
- A light blue cell indicates the actor is a guest cast member.
| Actor | Character | Appearances | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | S2 | S3 | |||||||||||
| V1 | V2 | V3 | V4 | V1 | V2 | V3 | V4 | V1 | V2 | V3 | V4 | ||
| Christopher Eccleston | The Doctor | ✓ | |||||||||||
| Camilla Beeput | Nova | ✓ | |||||||||||
| Jayne McKenna | Audrey | ✓ | |||||||||||
| Nicholas Briggs | Cybermen | ✓ | ✓ | ||||||||||
| Sea Devils | ✓ | ||||||||||||
| Zzargol | ✓ | ||||||||||||
| Jon Culshaw | Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart | ✓ | |||||||||||
| Warren Brown | Sam Bishop | ✓ | |||||||||||
| Elinor Lawless | Fiona McCall | ✓ | |||||||||||
| Adam Martyn | Callen Lennox | ✓ | |||||||||||
| Harki Bhambra | Doyle | ✓ | |||||||||||
| Alex Kingston | River Song | ✓ | |||||||||||
Guests
Series 1
- Ben Lee as Farraday (Sphere Of Freedom / Cataclysm / Food Fight)
- Jamie Parker as Halloran (Sphere Of Freedom / Cataclysm / Food Fight)
- Dan Starkey as Marcus Aurelius Gallius (Sphere Of Freedom / Cataclysm / Food Fight)
- Claire Corbett as Ravager (Cataclysm / Food Fight)
- Anjella MacKintosh as AI / President / Café Owner (Cataclysm / Food Fight)
- Pearl Appleby as DC Jana Lee (Girl, Deconstructed)
- Mirren Mack as Marnie / The Serapheem (Girl, Deconstructed)
- Forbes Masson as Kurt (Girl, Deconstructed)
- Damian Lynch as Artie Berger (Fright Motif)
- Gemma Whelan as Zazie Vincent (Fright Motif)
- Adrian Schiller as Maurice Le Bon (Fright Motif)
- Jan Francis as First Incorporation (Planet of the End)
- Nick Fletcher as Second Incorporation (Planet of the End)
- Annette Badland as Mrs Goose / Fleshkin 3 (The Hunting Season)
- Don Gilét as Streatham / Fleshkin 2 (The Hunting Season)
- Alex Jennings as Lord Hawthorn (The Hunting Season)
- Anthony Howell as Macbeth / Siward (The Curse of Lady Macbeth)
- Neve McIntosh as Gruach (The Curse of Lady Macbeth)
- David Rintoul as Kinade / Priest / Bishop (The Curse of Lady Macbeth)
- Peter Bankolé as Dieter Jovanovic (Monsters In Metropolis)
- Nick Wilton as Fritz Lang (Monsters In Metropolis)
- Helen Goldwyn as Anna Dreyfus (Monsters In Metropolis)
- Raj Ghatak as Olaf Richter (Monsters In Metropolis)
- Sienna Guillory as Idara Beckett (Fond Farewell)
- Juliet Stevenson as Winifred Whitby (Fond Farewell)
Series 2
- Indigo Griffths as Saffron Windrose (Station to Station)
- Ian Bartholemew as The Grimminy-Grue (Station to Station)
- Katy Brittain as Oksana Vladmirovna Kuznetsova (The False Dimitry)
- Leah Brotherhead as Mandy Litherland (Auld Lang Syne)
- Wendy Craig as Great Aunt Bette (Auld Lang Syne)
- Hayley Tamaddon as Auntie Sue (Auld Lang Syne)
- Dan Starkey as Sontarans (Salvation Nine)
- Josie Lawrence as Gaznak (Salvation Nine)
- Pooja Shah as Navarch Al-Hanin (Salvation Nine)
- Nicolas Colicos as Succeeding / Robot (Last of the Zetacene)
- Alice Feetham as Nel (Last of the Zetacene)
- Maureen O'Brien as Selo / First Gyra (Last of the Zetacene)
- Simon Shepherd as Pal Andrews (Break the Ice)
- Thalissa Teixeira as Dr Lenni Fisk (Break the Ice)
- Pip Torrens as Kenton (Break the Ice)
- Sasha Behar as Diana Hendry (The Seas Of Titan)
- Yasmin Mwanza as Rachel Bates / Taroth (The Seas Of Titan)
- Ferdy Roberts as Soloman Read (The Seas Of Titan)
- Joseph Kloska as Ludwig Von Husseldorf (Lay Down Your Arms)
- Jamie Parker as Tsar Alexander II / Trinity (Lay Down Your Arms)
- Diana Quick as Sophie Kinzky (Lay Down Your Arms)
- Kate Sissons as Bertha Kinzky (Lay Down Your Arms)
- Nicola Walker as Liv Chenka (Flatpack)
- Rebecca Root as Tania Bell (Flatpack)
- Jeremy Swift as Fraser / Colleague One (Flatpack)
- Frank Skinner as Pete Snow (The Colour of Terror)
- Dave Hearn as Toby Entwhistle (The Blooming Menace)
Series 3
- Louise Jameson as Flarca (The Green Gift)
- Ian Conningham as Fridtjof Nansen (Northern Lights)
- Gerard Kearns as Hjalmar Johansen (Northern Lights)
- Rachel Fenwick as Daphne (The Beautiful Game)
- Kelly Adams as Vyx Leeson (Below There)
- Jane Goddard as Alpha Centauri[broken anchor] (Run)
- Jane Asher as Bellatrix Vega (Run)
- Alexander Vlahos as Antonin Artaud (A Theatre of Cruelty)
- Elisabeth Yorke-Bolognini as Beatrice Cenci (A Theatre of Cruelty)
- Fiona Wade as Sergeant Ambika Desai (The Running Men)
- Lisa Bowerman as Bernice Summerfield (Ancient History)
Episodes
Series 1 (2021–22)
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Featuring | Released | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volume 1: Ravagers | ||||||||||||
| 1 | "Sphere of Freedom" | Nicholas Briggs | Nicholas Briggs | Ninth Doctor, Nova, Audrey | May 2021 | |||||||
| 2 | "Cataclysm" | |||||||||||
| 3 | "Food Fight" | |||||||||||
| Volume 2: Respond to All Calls | ||||||||||||
| 4 | "Girl, Deconstructed" | Helen Goldwyn | Lisa McMullin | Ninth Doctor, Marnie, Kurt, Serapheem | August 2021 | |||||||
| 5 | "Fright Motif" | Tim Foley | Ninth Doctor, Artie Berger, Zazie Vincent, Maurice Le Bon | |||||||||
| 6 | "Planet of the End" | Timothy X Atack | Ninth Doctor, First Incorporation | |||||||||
| Volume 3: Lost Warriors | ||||||||||||
| 7 | "The Hunting Season" | Barnaby Edwards | James Kettle | Ninth Doctor | November 2021 | |||||||
| 8 | "The Curse of Lady Macbeth" | Lizzie Hopley | Ninth Doctor | |||||||||
| 9 | "Monsters in Metropolis" | John Dorney | Ninth Doctor, Fritz Lang, Cybermen | |||||||||
| Volume 4: Old Friends | ||||||||||||
| 10 | "Fond Farewell" | Helen Goldwyn | David K Barnes | Ninth Doctor | February 2022[10] | |||||||
| 11 | "Way of the Burryman" | Roy Gill | Ninth Doctor, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Sam Bishop, Fiona McCall, Cybermen | |||||||||
| 12 | "The Forth Generation" | Roy Gill | Ninth Doctor, The Brigadier, Sam, Fiona, Cybermen | |||||||||
Series 2 (2022–23)
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Featuring | Released | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volume 1: Back to Earth | ||||||||||||
| 1 | "Station to Station" | Helen Goldwyn | Robert Valentine | Ninth Doctor, Saffron Windrose | May 2022 | |||||||
| 2 | "The False Dimitry" | Sarah Grochala | Ninth Doctor | |||||||||
| 3 | "Auld Lang Syne" | Tim Foley | Ninth Doctor, Mandy Litherland | |||||||||
| Volume 2: Into the Stars | ||||||||||||
| 4 | "Salvation Nine" | Helen Goldwyn | Timothy X Atack | Ninth Doctor, Sontarans | August 2022 | |||||||
| 5 | "Last of the Zetacene" | James Kettle | Ninth Doctor | |||||||||
| 6 | "Break the Ice" | Tim Foley | Ninth Doctor, Jack Frost | |||||||||
| Volume 3: Hidden Depths | ||||||||||||
| 7 | "The Seas of Titan" | Ken Bentley | Lizbeth Myles | Ninth Doctor, Sea Devils | November 2022 | |||||||
| 8 | "Lay Down Your Arms" | Lisa McMullin | Ninth Doctor, Bertha Kinzky | |||||||||
| 9 | "Flatpack" | John Dorney | Ninth Doctor, Liv Chenka, Tania Bell | |||||||||
| Volume 4: Shades of Fear | ||||||||||||
| 10 | "The Colour of Terror" | Helen Goldwyn | Lizzie Hopley | Ninth Doctor | February 2023 | |||||||
| 11 | "The Blooming Menace" | James Kettle | Ninth Doctor | |||||||||
| 12 | "Red Darkness" | Roy Gill | Ninth Doctor, Callen Lennox, Doyle, Vashta Nerada | |||||||||
Series 3 (2023)
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Featuring | Released | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volume 1: Pioneers | ||||||||||||
| 1 | "The Green Gift" | Helen Goldwyn | Roy Gill | Ninth Doctor, Callen, Doyle, Giant Maggots | May 2023 | |||||||
| 2 | "Northern Lights" | Robert Valentine | Ninth Doctor, Fridtjof Nansen, Hjalmar Johansen | |||||||||
| 3 | "The Beautiful Game" | Katharine Armitage | Ninth Doctor, Daphne | |||||||||
| Volume 2: Travel in Hope | ||||||||||||
| 4 | "Below There" | Helen Goldwyn | Lauren Mooney and Stewart Pringle | Ninth Doctor, Vyx Leeson | August 2023 | |||||||
| 5 | "The Butler Did It" | James Moran | Ninth Doctor | |||||||||
| 6 | "Run" | Robert Valentine | Ninth Doctor, Zzargol, Alpha Centauri[broken anchor] | |||||||||
| Volume 3: Buried Threats | ||||||||||||
| 7 | "A Theatre of Cruelty" | Helen Goldwyn | Lisa McMullin | Ninth Doctor, Antonin Artaud, Beatrice Cenci | February 2024 | |||||||
| 8 | "The Running Men" | Mark Wright | Ninth Doctor, Ambika Desai | |||||||||
| 9 | "Ancient History" | Matt Fitton | Ninth Doctor, Bernice Summerfield | |||||||||
| Volume 4: Star-Crossed | ||||||||||||
| 10 | "Swipe Right" | Helen Goldwyn | John Dorney | Ninth Doctor, River Song | May 2024[11] | |||||||
| 11 | "Face of the Apocalypse" | Lizzie Hopley | ||||||||||
| 12 | "Archiepelago" | Tim Foley | ||||||||||
Awards and nominations
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Work(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBC Audio Drama Awards | 2023 | Best Podcast Audio Drama | The Ninth Doctor Adventures | Shortlisted | [12] |
| Scribe Awards | 2022 | Best Audio | The Curse of Lady Macbeth | Won | [13] |
| Girl, Deconstructed | Nominated | ||||
| Monsters in Metropolis | Nominated |