David Tennant's Doctor meets Missy in Doctor Who 60th audio special

The exciting new episode is the next in the 60th anniversary Once and Future series, which is due for release this September. Although fans are eagerly awaiting Tennant's return in the TV series for three new TV specials as the Fourteenth Doctor, he'll be back first in the audio drama as his Tenth incarnation.

Recorded back in 2020, the cast of the new audio adventure will also include Madame Vastra (Neve McIntosh), Jenny Flint (Catrin Stewart) and Strax (Dan Starkey) as The Paternoster Gang, and Missy (Michelle Gomez).

According to the synopsis for the episode: "The First Doctor arrives in Victorian London amid a Martian invasion. But he discovers all is not what it seems when Missy appears...

"Soon, the Doctor is propelled into a future incarnation – the Tenth – but he is not alone in battling Missy and her Martian invaders. The Paternoster Gang – Madame Vastra, Jenny Flint and Strax – are also here to assist. But can they offer the Doctor any help in solving his own degeneration mystery?"

Speaking about the new episode, series producer David Richardson said: “I feel privileged to have produced this very special episode, and the recording session was very special too.

“To have all of these wonderfully rich characters together was a treat, and to have David Tennant and Michelle Gomez going head-to-head was joyous. Michelle loves to play with the script, and she improvised beautifully – and David took her improvisations and matched her.

“During the recording, I wondered how much might make it to the edit, but it’s all there within the final scenes. Joyous – I’ve used the word again. I’ve no other way to describe it.”

Read more:

• Doctor Who reveals new sonic screwdriver for David Tennant's Fourteenth Doctor
• Doctor Who's Billie Piper returns as Rose for 3 new audio adventures

There seems to be a veritable slate of good news coming our way as Doctor Who's 60th anniversary looms ever closer, with fans considerably excited for Tennant and Catherine Tate's return as the Doctor and companion, Donna Noble.

But Tennant has admitted that when preparing for his return, he didn't watch any of his past episodes, teasing that the Doctor and Donna are "not necessarily exactly the same versions of themselves as they were".

Tennant said in this month's issue of Doctor Who Magazine: "The Doctor's been three different people in the meantime, so I’m not necessarily the same version of the Doctor that I was before.

"I’m not the Tenth Doctor now, I’m the Fourteenth. Well, strictly speaking we don’t know what the actual number is anymore, do we?"

Doctor Who – Once and Future: The Martian Invasion of Planetoid 50 will be released this September 2023. It will be available to pre-order as a single-disc collector’s edition CD (+ download for just £10.99), or digital download only (for just £8.99), exclusively from www.bigfinish.com.

Doctor Who is available to stream on BBC iPlayer with episodes of the classic series also available on BritBox – you can sign up for a 7-day free trial here.

Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on.

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