16 years ago, Doctor Who returned to television. Christopher Eccleston starred as the new Ninth Doctor. Sadly, due to off-screen issues, he only played the role for one 13 episode season. But now he’s back! Thanks to Big Finish Productions.
Big Finish just dropped a trailer for Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures: The Ravagers. The three-story set is the first of 4 sets coming in 2021. Each stars Eccelston as the Doctor “on a voyage of discovery once more with new friends and adventures.”
In case you are not familiar with Big Finish, you should be. They produce full-cast audio dramas featuring many classic cult shows, with Doctor Who being one of their biggest licenses. They have produced over 400 stories set in the Doctor Who universe. Since 1999, they have produced stories featuring the Doctor set in the show’s Classic Era. Almost every living actor from that time has returned to their role in audio form, along with almost every companion, and, of course, every monster from Autons to the Zarbi. Even baddies like The Daleks and the Cybermen got their own series.
In 2015, they began to tell stories set during the show’s modern era. David Tennant and John Hurt have both returned to record new stories. Big Finish even produced original stories starring Alex Kingston as River Song and Michelle Gomez as Missy. And now, Chris Eccleston has joined them.
Having left the show under poor circumstances, Eccleston did not engage with the show’s legacy or fans much. It was only recently, as he began to take part in fan events like conventions, he got to see how fondly his Doctor is remembered. That warmed him to the idea of returning to the role in audio form.
Due for release in May 2021, Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Ravagers features three tales written by Big Finish’s Creative Director, Nicholas Briggs, and sees the Doctor on a voyage of discovery once more with new friends and adventures.
When his return was first announced, Briggs talked about working with Eccleston at the beginning of his Doctor Who TV career. (Briggs provided the voices of the Daleks and other monsters since 2005.) “Writing for and directing him feels incredibly exciting. He’s such a powerful performer and it’ll be amazing to work with him again”.
Big Finish Chairman Jason Haigh-Ellery added, “I am so pleased that Christopher has decided to return to the role with us. I’m excited to welcome him to the Big Finish family as we discover the new adventures of the Ninth Doctor.”
Alongside the previously-announced Camilla Beeput as Nova and Jayne McKenna as Audrey, this full-cast audio drama box set also teams Christopher Eccleston up with Jamie Parker (Callan, Harry Potter, and The Cursed Child) as Captain Halloran, Dan Starkey (The Paternoster Gang, Jago & Litefoot & Strax) as Marcus Aurelius Gallius, Ben Lee (Holmes & Watson) as Lieutenant Farraday, and Clare Corbett (Jenny – The Doctor’s Daughter) as the terrifying Ravagers.
