Once upon a time, Dorothy McShane used to blow things up. Now she runs a charity putting them back together. Mr Colchester works for Torchwood, and he’s suspicious of everything.

Torchwood’s 80th monthly audio release, out this February, reteams former Doctor Who companion Ace (Sophie Aldred) with the organisation’s Mr Colchester (Paul Clayton).

While crossovers between Doctor Who and its adult-skewing sister show are limited, they always offer something fun. In fact, it’s the third encounter for this odd couple, following 2021’s ‘The Red List’ and 2022’s ‘Death in Venice’.

Plus, of course, the first since Sophie Aldred’s onscreen reprise of Ace in ‘The Power of the Doctor’, the Doctor Who BBC Centenary Special.

Torchwood: Sabotage

Vultura has started mining some mountains in a state in India. The local villagers are displaced into a resettlement camp, and are retaliating. Brought in to stop the sabotage is Mr Colchester, who finds that the camp is overseen by Ace. Who is causing the sabotage? His suspicions are aroused. Ace always was good with explosives.

‘Sabotage’ is written by series producer James Goss and sports another terrific Sean Longmore cover.

James Goss said:

“I love that Ace and Mr Colchester work so well as a pairing. Their third outing sees them on opposite sides of a moral dilemma.

Mr Colchester is working for ‘A Sinister Mining Company’ and Ace is doing all she can to bring them down. Obviously, they’re at loggerheads from the get-go, and the story is about the game of cat and mouse they play with each other.

The notion came from designer Sean Longmore, who suggested I watch How To Blow Up A Pipeline – which is, again, about activists and authorities squaring off against each other and also lots of explosions. This story features both Ms McShane, patient head of a powerful charity trying to do the right thing, and also Ace, her inner teenager who solves every problem by blowing it up.

All the scenes with Sophie Aldred and Paul Clayton are delights as they enjoy sparking off each other so much.”

Torchwood: Sabotage is available to pre order, on collector’s edition CD (+ download) or digital download only, from Big Finish.

The Meaning Behind Ace’s Badges

In Ace related news, Doctor Who YouTuber and Ace enthusiast Christel Dee recently released a great interview with Sophie Aldred.

It follows on from Christel’s quest to identify all the badges on Ace’s famous jacket, and explains some of their backstories and on-screen inconsistencies.