The audio producers announce the future for the spacefaring archaeologist and sometime TARDIS traveller.
The enduring character of Professor Bernice Summerfield, created by writer Paul Cornell for the Doctor Who – The New Adventures book series, has been around since the early 1990s.
However, she gained a new level of fame when actor Lisa Bowerman brought Benny to life for the fledgling audio drama outfit Big Finish. That was in 1998 and more than a quarter of a century later, the audio producers have announced the latest phase of Bernice’s career.
Bernice has travelled both with the Doctor and led multiple series of adventures in her own right. The most recent of those involved a run of five box sets paired with the late David Warner’s alternate universe incarnation of the Doctor. However, after Warner’s passing in 2022, Benny’s future had seemed uncertain – although she recently popped up for a guest appearance opposite Christopher Eccleston.
The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield – The Eternity Club
Now, Big Finish have announced that her New Adventures series will continue later this year. However, the stories will appear in a new serialised format, with two 30-minute episodes released each month between September and December 2024.
Welcome to The Eternity Club, where a warm welcome awaits the universe’s greatest explorers. A place of mystery, intrigue and creeping danger. Professor Bernice Summerfield has finally been invited to join. But membership comes at a terrible price.
The stories are…
‘The Armageddon Chair’ / ‘Triumph of the Drahvin’ by James Goss (Released September 2024)
‘Rhubarb’ / ‘Please Retain Your Ticket for the Cloakroom’ by Tim Foley (Released October 2024)
‘The Terrible Shame of a Tree’ / ‘Mr Pym has an Adventure’ by James Goss (Released November 2024)
‘Sanctuary’ / ‘Liturgy of Death’ by Tim Foley (Released December 2024)
Lisa Bowerman is joined for the series by Nickolas Grace (Robin of Sherwood) as Secretary Pym and Niamh Cusack as the Oldest.
The cast also includes Dan Starkey (Doctor Who), Simon Kane (John Finnemore’s Souvenir Programme) and Jaye Jacobs (Casualty, Holby City).
Writer and producer James Goss said:
“Benny’s finally made it! She’s a member of an elite club of the galaxy’s top explorers, living a life of luxury on their private asteroid. Only, not everything is as it seems. The club is falling apart, the members seem to be stirring up an intergalactic war between the Draconians and the Sontarans, there’s a terrifying and mysterious old woman in the library, and no-one at the club can quite remember how they got there…”
Big Finish executive producer Jason Haigh-Ellery said:
“The story of Bernice Summerfield continues, though there’s one very important person missing. David Warner had become an integral and much-loved part of the series and a great friend to us at Big Finish, and we were all terribly upset by his passing in July 2022.
“After discussing the future of the range with Lisa Bowerman, we’ve decided that The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield should carry on, and James Goss and Tim Foley have done a brilliant job of creating an exciting new world for Benny to explore.”
All four releases in the Doctor Who: The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield: The Eternity Club series are available to pre order now on Collector’s Edition CD (+ download) and digital download only from Big Finish.