Thanks to the vagaries of time travel (and early recording), the late actor appears in the Fourth Doctor’s next box set of audio adventures.
Big Finish have dropped details of 2023’s second box set of The Fourth Doctor Adventures: Angels and Demons.
In it, Tom Baker’s Doctor, with Leela (Louise Jameson) and new companion Margaret Hopwood (Nerys Hughes), enjoy four further adventures – including an encounter with those terrifying Weeping Angels (who work surprisingly well on audio!)
The guest cast is now revealed for the first of these stories. The late star of stage and screen Ronald Pickup, who appeared in an early television episode of Doctor Who, stars in ‘The Wizard of Time’ by Roy Gill. Joining him are Olivia Poulet (The Thick of It), Alastair Mackenzie (Unforgotten) and Shvorne Marks (Breeders).
The other stories in the box set are ‘The Friendly Invasion’ by Chris Chapman, ‘Stone Cold’ by Roland Moore and ‘The Ghost of Margaret’ by Tim Foley.
The story details for Angels and Demons are as follows…
‘The Wizard of Time’ by Roy Gill (2 parts)
It’s time for a story.
Jacob Harmer was one of the greats. His fantasy novels for children entranced a generation. But how much of their stories were fantasy and how much of them was the truth?
At last he’s ready to tell the tale of what really happened.
‘The Friendly Invasion’ by Chris Chapman (2 parts)
It’s 1943 and the village of Westbourne has been invaded… not by the enemy, but by the allies.
The American troops are ‘over here’ and enjoying themselves mightily. Except there’s someone else visiting the village. And not just the new barmaid, Margaret. Or her
unusual friends, Leela and the Doctor. Something with a sinister agenda all its own.
‘Stone Cold’ by Roland Moore (4 parts)
The TARDIS lands on a rocky, volcanic planet and its crew soon find they are not alone.
A pleasure cruiser has recently crashed on this world… but survival has proved rather dangerous.
Because there’s something out on the surface snatching people away. Something made of stone. And with wings.
Don’t blink.
‘The Ghost of Margaret’ by Tim Foley (2 parts)
The journey has been long, but it’s time for Margaret to come home.
Or is it a different time entirely? Reunited with a ghost from her past, she’s finds herself in a whole new world.
The Doctor and Leela are about to discover that people don’t always leave easily…
Working with Ronald Pickup
Producer David Richardson said: “Ronald Pickup was a legend – an actor’s actor. It was such sad news to hear of his death. He always enjoyed working for Big Finish and had such fondness for Doctor Who – it was, after all, his very first professional role (‘The Reign of Terror’ in 1964).”
“Tom Baker was delighted that we secured Ronald for ‘The Wizard of Time’, and they spent much time in the green room reminiscing about mutual friends and happy times.”
Tom Baker added:
“Ronald Pickup was a prodigy of the national theatre. He was always very encouraging and nice to me. He really was thrilled to be at Big Finish like I am. He loved it.”
Doctor Who – The Fourth Doctor Adventures: Angels and Demons is released in June. It’s available to pre-order on collector’s edition 5-disc CD box set + download, or digital download, only from Big Finish.