There’s a prickly family reunion for Yaz as she deals with Ice Warriors in South Yorkshire.

Across her tenure, the Thirteenth Doctor met several classic monsters, but never the chilly former inhabitants of Mars. ‘The Hallamshire Incident’ sets that right, and welcomes back an audio favourite in Patricia Menzies, now a Police Superintendent.

It also serves as the audio series debut for Yaz’s sister Sonya Khan, who’s granted some much-needed character development.

The Hallamshire Incident

After a schlocky opening scene, debuting a Nicholas Briggs’ Yorkshire accent, the tale begins with a flying saucer crash. He plays the investigating police sergeant, who’s soon trumped by a phone call. In the absence of other organisations, Anna Hope’s Superintendent Patricia Menzies takes control – disrupting the Doctor’s dinosaur dodging antics.

Teamed up in the present, the Doctor promptly identifies the ship as that of an Ice Warrior while Yaz deals with something closer to home. Her sister Sonya (Bhavnisha Parmar) has been arrested within the exclusion zone of the crash and is believed to be withholding footage. It appears Sonya’s career has pivoted to that of an online content creator her sister’s absence and is keen to reveal the truth about aliens to the world.

Set in the period where UNIT was out of action and Torchwood underground, ‘The Hallamshire Incident’ has its eye on the future. With Patricia Menzies, the planet’s first line of defence, or at least the UK’s, appears to be in good hands. Despite her elevation in rank, Menzies retains her sarcastic sense of humour and works as a great foil for Jodie Whittaker’s upbeat Doctor. A former ally of the Sixth Doctor, she is pretty unfazed by the Time Lord’s change of appearance too.

Continuity

Rochana Patel’s script fills in some useful gaps. We learn that the Doctor officially requested a secondment for Yaz – giving her a career to come back to – and what Sonya Khan does with her time (other than chasing boys). Off the back of events throughout Series 11 and 12, she’s now an online content creator.

It also makes the space for character development between the Khan sisters and the dynamic between Bhavnisha Parmar and Mandip Gill is great fun. An early touchstone for this era, Yaz’s family got lost the show progressed. Possibly the foreshortened Flux season had something to do with that?

The story doesn’t particularly break new ground with the Ice Warriors, but they are well-used and it’s always good to hear old monsters return. Nicholas Briggs is joined by BF regular Mark Elstob to voice the Ice Warriors, with both also playing policemen too.

In Summary

With some judicious use of series continuity, this is an entertaining tale that fits perfectly into the Thirteenth Doctor’s era. There’s a good balance between the personal and the professional for Yaz as her sister sees her in professional mode. The story also offers Jodie Whittaker the chance to deliver some righteous indignation and fury in the denouement too.

The return of Menzies is a treat too and hopefully the start of something. Do we sniff a potential ‘Earth Division’ spin-off with Yaz, after her TARDIS travels?

Doctor Who – The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures: The Hallamshire Incident is available on CD or download to own from Big Finish now.

Catch up on our reviews of The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures.

Next Time: The Greatest Train Robbery

The Doctor and Yaz are sent on a mission of mercy – but who or what are they supposed to be rescuing?

On board a hijacked space train, the stakes get higher as the fate of the Maelin system hangs in the balance. As the Rebel factions and Sentinel guards join battle, time is running out. Will the Doctor discover the secret of the Maelin Anomaly?

Doctor Who – The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures: The Greatest Train Robbery is available to pre order from Big Finish now. It’s out in September 2026.