For nine years, Big Finish Productions has held an annual competition in the memory of Paul Spragg, our much-loved producer’s assistant, who passed away suddenly in 2014. Paul was a champion of upcoming writing talent, and so the competition aims to continue his legacy by finding and encouraging new writers. 

Entrants are invited to submit an original Doctor Who story for our Short Trips range, and this year the theme was the Time War. 

The winner was War Stories by Patrick Ross, which features the Twelfth Doctor and Bill visiting a theatre festival on the planet Fringe. Here, they discover a play about events that should never be known – the Time War. 

This 42-minute adventure is read by actor Alan Cox. Cox said: “It was a joy to get to play around with Peter Capaldi’s voice, and the terrific Pearl Mackie as well. And Patrick’s had some fun with the idea of the planet Fringe – speaking as a veteran of quite a few Edinburgh Fringe festivals, there are lots of in-jokes that are quite wicked!” 

War Stories is now available to download for free, on what would have been Paul Spragg’s birthday. 

The Intergalactic Fringe Festival spans a whole planet. Its programme offers millions of shows, so the Doctor and Bill can choose anything from anti-grav acrobats to the quantum cabaret.   

But the Doctor is alarmed when he attends a play about the Time War. It’s not just that it tells his personal history – its performance could unravel the universe. 

Below is a Q&A with Patrick Ross about his winning entry: 

What was it like finding out that you had won? 

“I was thrilled and surprised. I took an hour or two to respond to the email, because I had to take a couple of laps around the block to wrap my head around it! I feel grateful to Big Finish for this opportunity, and to Paul Spragg for being such a kind and generous soul that Big Finish chose to honour him by giving new writers a chance.” 

What was the inspiration for your story? 

“War Stories was inspired by my experience at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which is my favourite place on Earth. It is such a unique gathering of all kinds of talent from around the world. And I figured if the Earth Fringe Festival takes up the entire city of Edinburgh, then the intergalactic one had to take up a whole planet.” 

Why did you decide to write a Twelfth Doctor story? 

“When I saw that this year's theme was the Time War, I was determined to find a way to use my favourite Doctor and companion, the Twelfth Doctor and Bill Potts. And what I really wanted to do was find a story that not only could accommodate those characters, but that could only be told with them. So, the Twelfth Doctor is the first incarnation who knows the truth of the Time War. He's the first one who knows that he didn't destroy his own planet and his own people. This story grapples with the paradox of that truth.” 

What’s your advice to anyone thinking of entering next year’s competition? 

“First of all, stop thinking about entering and enter. Because that’s often the hardest part. But my second piece of advice would be to write what you know and what you love. The Time War theme didn’t easily lend itself to a Twelfth Doctor story, but I really wanted to write for him, he’s my Doctor, so I found a way. And if there’s a story you really want to tell, or a character you really want to inhabit, find a way to write that story, because this is your chance to do it. And the passion and the authenticity will really come through in your entry.” 

Doctor Who – Short Trips: War Stories is now available to download for free exclusively here. The story is also accompanied by bonus features; Patrick Ross’ original submission to the competition; the final script; and a short behind-the-scenes featurette. 

The previous winners of the Paul Spragg Memorial Short Trips Opportunity, all available to download for free, are:   

2016: Doctor Who: Forever Fallen by Joshua Wanisko  
2017: Doctor Who: Landbound by Selim Ulug 
2018: Doctor Who: The Last Day at Work by Harry Draper 
2019: Doctor Who: The Best Laid Plans by Ben Tedds
2020: Doctor Who: Free Speech by Eugenie Pusenjak 
2021: Doctor Who: The Lichyrwick Abomination by Joe Vevers
2022: Doctor Who: The World Tree by Nick Slawicz
2023: Doctor Who: The Hoxteth Time Capsule by Paul Davis