List of Doctor Who: The Classic Series audio plays by Big Finish
This is a list of audio productions based on the classic era of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who produced by Big Finish Productions.
Cast
The dramas feature both former actors who portrayed the Doctor and his companions, and new continuing characters as well as elements from other spin-off media. The canonicity of the audio dramas, as with other Doctor Who spin-off media, is unclear. To date, productions have featured the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Doctors portrayed by their original actors.Big Finish's current licence from the BBC allows it to produce audio dramas featuring the first thirteen incarnations of the Doctor and associated characters introduced into the series between 1963 and 2022.
Nearly all of the companions from the original series have appeared, voiced by their original actors. They include Susan, Ian Chesterton, Vicki, Steven Taylor, Sara Kingdom, Polly, Jamie McCrimmon, Victoria Waterfield, Zoe Heriot, Jo Grant, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Sergeant Benton, Mike Yates, Leela, K9, Romana I, Romana II, Adric, Nyssa, Tegan Jovanka, Vislor Turlough, Peri Brown, Melanie Bush and Ace.
Several actors who played the Doctor and companions of previous Doctors have appeared in other roles, including Russell, O'Brien, Marsh, Wills, Watling, Padbury, Caroline John, Manning, Elisabeth Sladen, Leeson, Daphne Ashbrook, Tennant and Bernard Cribbins. Sladen also reprised Sarah Jane Smith in a spin-off series simply entitled Sarah Jane Smith. Sladen never appeared as Sarah alongside any incarnation of the Doctor for Big Finish; a series with Tom Baker was planned, but was never recorded due to Sladen's untimely death in April 2011.
Initially Matthew Waterhouse declined to reprise the role of Adric so the character was recast and played by Andrew Sachs as an older version of the character. Waterhouse later returned to the role on an ongoing basis.
Big Finish also started The Companion Chronicles series of plays, featuring a companion or friend of the Doctor and a supporting cast member. Ford, Russell, O'Brien, Purves, Marsh, Wills, Hines, Watling, Padbury, Manning, Jameson, Tamm, Ward, Sutton, Strickson and Aldred have all reprised their roles in this series along with John.
As well as this, Big Finish started the Doctor Who: The Early Adventures series of full-cast plays, featuring the First Doctor and the Second Doctor, and companions Barbara Wright and Ben Jackson, and Russell, Ford, O'Brien, Purves, Marsh, Wills, Hines, Watling and Padbury reprising their roles from the original series. They also started Doctor Who: [The Third Doctor Adventures|The Third Doctor Adventures] series of full-cast plays, featuring Tim Treloar recast as the Third Doctor, Manning as Jo, and Franklin as Yates.
New companions created for the audio series include Evelyn Smythe, Charley Pollard, Erimem, Hex Schofield, C'rizz, Lucie Miller, Thomas Brewster, Abby, Tamsin Drew, Elizabeth Elizabeth Klein, Flip Jackson, Molly O'Sullivan, Liv Chenka, Helen Sinclair and Constance Clarke. Lisa Bowerman has appeared as Bernice Summerfield, a companion from the Virgin New Adventures, in several Doctor Who audio dramas as well as in original productions with her as the central character. Robert Jezek and Jemima Rooper have appeared as Frobisher and Izzy Sinclair, companions from the Doctor Who Magazine comic strip, Travis Oliver and Yasmin Bannerman have portrayed companions Roz Forrester and Chris Cwej from the Virgin New Adventures, and Matt Di Angelo has played Fitz Kreiner, a companion from the BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures.
Charley, C'rizz, Lucie, Tamsin and Molly were all referenced by name in the mini-episode "The Night of the Doctor".
Broadcast
In 2005, six of the audio dramas featuring Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor were broadcast on the digital radio station BBC 7: Storm Warning, Sword of Orion, The [Stones of Venice (Doctor Who audio)|The Stones of Venice], Invaders from Mars, Shada, and The Chimes of Midnight. These plays were rebroadcast on BBC7 beginning in July 2006. The Chimes of Midnight was repeated again as part of "The New Eighth Doctor Adventures" Series 1 & 2 in 2009.In January 2007, a new series of Eighth Doctor audio adventures was broadcast on BBC7. These starred McGann alongside Sheridan Smith as the aforementioned new companion Lucie Miller. There were eight 50-minute episodes in total; the first and last stories were two-parters, and the rest were single episodes. These adventures have since been released on CD. In 2008, BBC7 broadcast the second series of The New Eighth Doctor Adventures bar the final two-part story. All fourteen episodes were then repeated in 2009, and the final two-part story later that year. Big Finish has gone on to produce two further series of these Adventures, and four selected stories from the third series were aired in 2010, with BBC Radio 4 Extra skipping ahead to the fourth series in early 2013.
In May/June 2011, BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast the Fifth Doctor stories Cobwebs, The Whispering Forest, and Cradle of the Snake. In May/June 2012, these were followed by the Seventh Doctor stories A Thousand Tiny Wings, Survival of the Fittest, Klein's Story and The Architects of History. For the fiftieth anniversary of the show, BBC Radio 4 Extra repeated several stories and broadcast two new stories; Protect and Survive starring Sylvester McCoy and 1963: Fanfare for the Common Men starring Peter Davison. In May 2015, BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast the first series of Fourth Doctor Adventures starring Tom Baker and Louise Jameson. In 2016, the station broadcast a run of Sixth Doctor adventures: The Crimes of Thomas Brewster, Industrial Evolution and The Curse of Davros.
Ranges
''The First Doctor Adventures'' (2017–present)
Volume 1 (2017)
Volume 2 (2018)
Volume 3 (2019)
Volume 4 (2020)
Volume 5 (2021)
Series 1: ''The Outlaws'' (2022)
Series 2: ''The Demon Song'' (2023)
Series 3: ''Fugitive of the Daleks'' (2024)
Series 4: ''The Living Darkness''
On the 23 May 2024, Big Finish announced their slate of boxsets for 2025. Nicholas Briggs said: “All our writers, directors, script editors and producers continue to work tirelessly to create exciting new adventures for all our Doctors. The First Doctor continues his strange encounters with past companions, with an absolute corker by Jacqueline Rayner, already recorded and in post-production." The release is set for January 2025.''The Second Doctor Adventures'' (2022–present)
Series 1: ''Beyond War Games'' (2022)
Series 2: ''James Robert McCrimmon'' (2023)
Series 3: ''Conspiracy of Raven'' (2024)
''The Third Doctor Adventures'' (2015–present)
Volume 1 (2015)
Volume 2 (2016)
Volume 3 (2017)
Volume 4 (2018)
Volume 5 (2019)
Volume 6 (2020)
Volume 7 (2021)
Volume 8 (2021)
''The Annihilators'' (2022)
''Kaleidoscope'' (2022)
''The Return of Jo Jones'' (2023)
''Intelligence for War'' (2023)
''Revolution in Space'' (2024)
''The Quintessence'' (2024)
''Doctor Who and the Brain Drain'' (2025)
''Operation: Vengeance''
''The Fourth Doctor Adventures'' (2012–present)
In 2012, Big Finish began a range of ongoing dramas featuring the Fourth Doctor, as portrayed by Tom Baker. Baker had previously declined to feature in Big Finish releases, but after recording The Fourth Doctor Box Set had been encouraged to participate.Series 1 (2012)
Special (2012)
Series 2 (2013)
Series 3 (2014)
Series 4 (2015)
Series 5 (2016)
Series 6 (2017)
Series 7 (2018)
Series 8 (2019)
Series 9 (2020)
Special (2020)
Series 10 (2021)
''Dalek Universe'' Prologue (2021)
Series 11 (2022)
Series 12 (2023)
Series 13 (2024)
Special (2024)
Series 14
''The Fifth Doctor Adventures'' (2003–present)
Specials
Volume 1 (2014)
''Wicked Sisters'' (2020)
''The Lost Resort and Other Stories'' (2021)
''Forty'' (2022)
''Conflicts of Interest'' (2023)
''In The Night'' (2023)
''The Dream Team'' (2024)
''The Great Beyond'' (2024)
A second boxset is scheduled for release in September 2024. Big Finish's Creative Director Nicholas Briggs described them as "...really imaginative, celebratory adventures that feel like Classic Doctor Who turned right up to eleven, in the very best of ways".''Hooklight''
On 23 May 2024, Big Finish announced their slate of boxsets for 2025. Senior Producer John Ainsworth said "...in 2025, Peter Davison stars in a 12-part Fifth Doctor story for the first time ever. It's an epic featuring new worlds, new creatures and a searing light that could burn everything to dust." The two boxsets are scheduled for release in April and May 2025, respectively.''The Sixth Doctor Adventures'' (2002–present)
Specials
''The Sixth Doctor: The Last Adventure'' (2015)
''The Sixth Doctor and Peri'' (2020)
''The Eleven'' (2021)
''Water Worlds'' (2022)
''Purity Undreamed'' (2022)
''Purity Unleashed'' (2023)
''Purity Unbound'' (2023)
''The Quin Dilemma'' (2024)
''The Trials of a Time Lord'' (2024)
''The Cosmos and Mrs Clarke'' (2025)
''Bad Terms'' (2025)
''The Seventh Doctor Adventures'' (2001–present)
Specials
''The Seventh Doctor: The New Adventures'' (2018)
''Silver & Ice'' (2022)
''Sullivan and Cross – AWOL'' (2022)
''Far From Home'' (2023)
''The Last Day'' (2023–24)
''The Doctor and Carnacki'' (2024)
''Past Forward'' (2025)
''Wicked!'' (2025)
''The Eighth Doctor Adventures'' (2003–present)
Special (2003)
''The Eighth Doctor Adventures'' Series 1 (2007)
In 2006 Big Finish began a standalone range of audio plays featuring the Eighth Doctor. These stories were set after his travels with Charley Pollard and C'rizz in the main range, which were subsequently ended.''The Eighth Doctor Adventures'' Series 2 (2008)
''The Eighth Doctor Adventures'' Series 3 (2009)
''The Eighth Doctor Adventures'' Series 4 (2009–2011)
Special (2010)
''Dark Eyes'' Series 1 (2012)
Following on directly from the Eighth Doctor Adventures, Dark Eyes consists of four box sets, each made up of four hour-long episodes, the first released in November 2012 and the last in March 2015.''Dark Eyes'' Series 2 (2014)
''Dark Eyes'' Series 3 (2014)
''Dark Eyes'' Series 4 (2015)
''Doom Coalition'' Series 1 (2015)
''Doom Coalition'' Series 2 (2016)
''Doom Coalition'' Series 3 (2016)
''Doom Coalition'' Series 4 (2017)
''The Eighth Doctor: The Time War'' Series 1 (2017)
A special run of prequels to Doctor Who: The War Doctor.''The Eighth Doctor: The Time War'' Series 2 (2018)
''The Eighth Doctor: The Time War'' Series 3 (2019)
''The Eighth Doctor: The Time War'' Series 4 (2020)
''The Eighth Doctor: The Time War'' Series 5 – ''Cass'' (2023)
''The Eighth Doctor: The Time War'': Series 6 – ''Uncharted 1: Reflections'' (2024)
''The Eighth Doctor: The Time War'': Series 7 – ''Uncharted 2: Pursuit'' (2025)
''The Eighth Doctor: The Time War'': Series 8 – ''Uncharted 3'' (2026)
''Ravenous'' Series 1 (2018)
''Ravenous'' Series 2 (2018)
''Ravenous'' Series 3 (2019)
''Ravenous'' Series 4 (2019)
''Stranded'' Series 1 (2020)
Featuring the first appearance of Tania Bell, the first transgender companion in any Doctor Who media.''Stranded'' Series 2 (2021)
''Stranded'' Series 3 (2021)
''Stranded'' Series 4 (2022)
''The Further Adventures of Lucie Miller'' (2019)
Announced in August 2018, this series is set between the first and second series of audio adventures.''Charlotte Pollard – The Further Adventuress'' (2022)
''What Lies Inside?'' (2022)
''Connections'' (2022)
''Audacity'' (2023)
''In the Bleak Midwinter'' (2023)
''Echoes'' (2024)
''The Stuff of Legend'' (2024)
''Deadly Strangers'' (2024)
''Causeway'' (2025)
''Empty Vessels'' (2025)
''The Audio Novels'' (2021–present)
''The Companion Chronicles'' (2007–present)
The character in brackets in the "Featuring" column is who the story is told by.Series 1 (2007)
Series 2 (2007–2008)
Series 3 (2008–2009)
Series 4 (2009–2010)
Series 5 (2010–2011)
Specials (2011)
Series 6 (2011–2012)
Special (2012)
Series 7 (2012–2013)
Series 8 (2013–2014)
Series 9: ''The First Doctor Volume 1'' (2015)
Series 10: ''The Second Doctor Volume 1'' (2016)
Series 11: ''The First Doctor Volume 2'' (2017)
Series 12: ''The Second Doctor Volume 2'' (2018)
Series 13: ''The First Doctor Volume 3'' (2019)
Series 14: ''The Second Doctor Volume 3'' (2022)
Series 15: ''Families''
''The Early Adventures'' (2014–2021)
Series 1 (2014)
Series 2 (2015–2016)
Series 3 (2016)
Series 4 (2017)
Series 5 (2018)
Series 6 (2019)
Series 7 (2021)
''The Lost Stories'' (2009–present)
Series 1 (2009–2010)
Series 2 (2010–2011)
''Fourth Doctor Lost Stories'' (2012)
Series 3 (2011–2012)
Series 4 (2013)
Series 5 (2019)
Series 6 (2021)
Special (2022)
Series 7 (2023)
Series 8 (2024)
Series 9
''The Monthly Adventures'' (1999–2021)
Doctor Who: The Monthly Adventures is a series of full-cast audiobook adventures based on the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, produced by Nicholas Briggs and Big Finish Productions and starring one of the original actors to play The Doctor on television in the classic era of the programme. By 2018 the range featured the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Doctors, with a pattern of thirteen releases per year, one every month with two in September or December. In May 2020, Big Finish announced that the Monthly Range would conclude with its 275th issue in March 2021, to be replaced with regular releases of each Doctor in their own boxsets throughout the year from January 2022.Big Finish Productions began producing audio dramas featuring the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Doctors, starting with The Sirens of Time in July 1999. This continued through to 2000, and from 2001 to 2007, the main range also included releases featuring the Eighth Doctor with his companions Charley Pollard and C'rizz, but these were ended due to the simultaneously running Doctor Who: [The Eighth Doctor Adventures|Eighth Doctor Adventures], which ran from 2006 to 2011 and featured companion Lucie Miller. From 2008 to late 2011, only one Eighth Doctor release was produced for the main range: The Company of Friends, featuring companions from other media to the audio plays, and the historical figure Mary Shelley. The Eighth Doctor returned to the main range in a trilogy of adventures with Mary Shelley in October 2011.