15 years after he first took the keys to the TARDIS, Christopher Eccleston is returning to ‘Doctor Who’ in The Ninth Doctor Adventures for Big Finish it has been announced.
The 12 new audio adventures will be released across four box sets with the first volume scheduled to drop in May 2021. “After 15 years, it will be exciting to revisit the Ninth Doctor’s world, bringing back to life a character I love playing,” commented Eccleston.
Eccleston only appeared for one season on tv, and fans have been crying out for more of his adventure in time and space. However, due to a breakdown in the relationship with then-showrunner Russell T Davies and the producers at the time, along with his treatment by the BBC after he left, he had always been reluctant to return to this role, despite his love for the character. Thankfully for fans, Big Finish chairman Jason Haigh-Ellery managed to convince him the time was right for him to come back.
“I first talked to Christopher about returning to the role of the Doctor at the Gallifrey One convention in February this year,” said Haigh-Ellery. “Christopher said he was enjoying meeting the fans and was pleased that his Doctor was remembered so fondly. He indicated he would be open to discussing a project with Big Finish… And then the pandemic happened and time moved both quickly and very slowly. Over recent months, ideas have been exchanged and discussions had. I am so pleased that Christopher has decided to return to the role with us – and I’m excited to welcome him to the Big Finish family as we discover the new adventures of the Ninth Doctor.”
Story details, writers and additional guest cast are being kept under wraps at present but this Doctor Who audio series promises to be, once again, the trip of a lifetime. Having said that, Big Finish’s Creative Director (and voice of the Darleks) Nicholas Briggs, does hint that he will be involved directly in the project. “Working with Chris was a very special time for me. The beginning of my Doctor Who TV career,” Briggs commented, before adding “So, writing for and directing him feels incredibly exciting. He’s such a powerful performer and it’ll be amazing to work with him again.”
Each of the four volumes in ‘Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures’ will be released as a 4-disc collector’s edition box set or download containing three brand-new full-cast audio adventures, plus a selection of behind-the-scenes extras. There are also triple special edition LP vinyls, which are strictly limited to a pressing of 1,000 per volume.
‘Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures’ is now available for pre-order exclusively on the Big Finish website here.