New details revealed for Russell T Davies’ "lost" upcoming Doctor Who story
Mind of the Hodiac was a script written by Davies in 1986, and will now form an audio adventure starring Colin Baker.
Russell T Davies is finally making a scripted return to Doctor Who – well, sort of. You see, for former showrunner hasn’t actually penned a new script for the BBC sci-fi drama, instead unearthing an unpublished adventure he wrote in the 1980s around 20 years before he revived the series with Christopher Eccleston.
In January, it was revealed that the recovered script was being turned into a Big Finish audio adventure – and now Davies and Emily Cook (the journalist and producer whose virtual Doctor Who watchalongs inspired Davies to dig out the script) have given more details about what Mind of the Hodiac will entail.
“I was preparing for Emily Cook’s Doctor Who tweetalong for The Runaway Bride, reached for the script, pulled an old stack of papers out of a box... and there was Mind of the Hodiac!” Davies said in a release.
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“A story written back in ‘86 on an electric typewriter in a bedsit in Roath, Cardiff. The only copy!
“I’d forgotten all about it. It’s one whole hour-long episode, plus a detailed synopsis of the second, final episode. Starring the Sixth Doctor and Mel!
“It’s a galaxy-spanning adventure, as the mysterious Hodiac begins a deadly hunt, putting an ordinary Earth family in terrible danger. There are psychic powers, Tungsten Warriors and a vital role for the Doctor’s coat..."
“When Russell told me he’d rediscovered his forgotten Doctor Who script, it was like finding buried treasure,” producer Emily Cook added. “We joked that it would inevitably become a Big Finish release. And a few enthusiastic emails later, the wheels were already in motion.
“It was Russell’s Doctor Who which introduced me to – and made me fall in love with – the show in 2005, so I’m thrilled to be producing his first-ever Doctor Who script. I can’t wait to bring Mind of the Hodiac to life on audio and I hope fans are intrigued and excited to hear it. What a wonderful thing to come out of lockdown!”
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According to Big Finish, Doctor Who – The Lost Stories: Mind of the Hodiac will star original actors Colin Baker and Bonnie Langford as their characters from the era Davies was writing for, in a two-part story written and adapted by Davies and Scott Handcock.
The release date for the story is currently set for an undisclosed period in 2022, with pre-orders for digital downloads of CD box sets of Mind of the Hodiac already available for pre-order.
And for fans of Davies’ era of Doctor Who, it’s sure to be a special treat when this lost script finally comes to life.
Doctor Who – The Lost Stories: Mind of the Hodiac will be released in early 2022 by Big Finish. Check out more Sci-Fi stories on our dedicated page, or find other TV shows in our TV Guide.
Authors
Huw Fullerton is a Commissioning Editor for Radio Times magazine, covering Entertainment, Comedy and Specialist Drama.
