Doctor Who: Once and Future will feature the final performance of David Warner as the Doctor.
Back in November, audio producers revealed their plans for Doctor Who‘s 60th Anniversary year; Once and Future promises an epic multi-Doctor, multi-part adventure to celebrate the show’s six decades.
Revealing the story’s intriguing premise, their original announcement confirmed the involvement of Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant. Now, at this weekend’s Gallifrey One convention, a slew of guest stars have also been confirmed.
Once and Future will include appearances by the company’s recast First, Second and Third Doctors, as portrayed by Stephen Noonan, Michael Troughton and Tim Treloar respectively. The series also features the late, great David Warner in his final performance as the Unbound Doctor.
Companions and Allies
The Doctors need their friends and there are a number involved. These include Sadie Miller and Christopher Naylor as Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan, Nicola Walker as Liv Chenka, Georgia Tennant as Jenny, the Doctor’s Daughter, Michelle Ryan as Lady Christina and Camille Coduri as Jackie Tyler.
Additionally, The Paternoster Gang of Madame Vastra (Neve McIntosh), Jenny Flint (Catrin Stewart) and Strax (Dan Starkey) will appear. As will the Time Lords Veklin (Beth Chalmers) and The General (Ken Bones) of the Time War stories.
Plus, as all good adventures need a villain, the involvement of Missy (Michelle Gomez) is also confirmed. Apparently, there are many more names to come too.
The Writers
We also now have confirmation of the writers involved in the series and their episode titles;
‘Past Lives’ by Robert Valentine
‘The Artist at the End of Time’ by James Goss
‘A Genius for War’ by Jonathan Morris
‘Two’s Company’ by Lisa McMullin
‘The Martian Invasion of Planetoid 50’ by Jonathan Barnes
‘Time Lord Immemorial’ by Lisa McMullin
‘The Union’ by Matt Fitton
‘Coda – The Final Act’ by Tim Foley
Series’ script editor, Matt Fitton, said:
“It was a massive honour to be asked by producer David Richardson to help coordinate this mammoth undertaking. For me, it was a chance to work again with many of Big Finish’s barnstorming writers, all of whom I’d had great fun working with before. It’s always a joy to send that email inviting someone onto an exciting project like this, and then seeing the number of exclamation marks in the response!
“There were certain characters I felt just had to be involved in such a significant anniversary, but over the course of the whole series, we aim to pay tribute to every single era of the show across its 60 years. The Doctor might not quite be himself at the start, but we’ve an army of allies and enemies to help remind him what he stands for.”
Doctor Who: Once and Future releases monthly
Seven hour-long episodes are released between May and October 2023. A final coda episode then lands a year later, in November 2024.
The whole series can be pre-ordered on special edition CD (+ download), or digital (download only), exclusively from the Big Finish website. The CD bundle is strictly limited to just 3,000 pressings; it includes numbered CDs, special bonus artworks and additional audio content, including music suites and extended behind-the-scenes interviews.
Alternatively, all eight stories are available to pre-order separately on standard collector’s edition CD (+ download), or on digital download. The standard edition does not include the extras contained in the special edition, but does include behind-the-scenes features.
We’ll keep you posted on Doctor Who: Once and Future.