“Like any soap opera, Dark Shadows often involves a love triangle,” says co-producer Joseph Lidster. “But unlike other shows, the central love triangle in Dark Shadows is between a vampire, the witch who turned him, and the manager of the local motel.”

Kathryn Leigh Scott and Lara Parker were stars of the original Dark Shadows television series as well as appearing in the spin-off films, and are now Big Finish veterans. “Maggie and Angelique have a long history,” says co-producer David Darlington, “but there’s still so much more of their story to tell. Both characters are heavily-involved in Bloodlust’s central murder mystery. Angelique has killed many times before  - could she be the murderer? Maggie has always been an innocent but she’s been through so much. Has she finally lost her sanity?”

Barnabas, the ancient vampire, left Collinsport at the end of Kingdom of the Dead – banished by Maggie Evans as she finally learnt of his true nature. Has he come back to get revenge on her? Or does he return for other reasons?”

“It's been a while since we last met him, but we couldn’t not have Andrew back as Barnabas,” says Joseph Lidster. “His portrayal of the tortured vampire is just fantastic. Finding a way to bring him back to the town was one of the real challenges of writing Bloodlust. One thing I will say is that the dynamics and relationship between Maggie, Barnabas and Angelique are going to be changed forever...”

You can hear Angelique, Barnabas and Maggie introducing themselves here. (Soundcloud clips).

For pictures of the cast announced so far, visit here.

Dark Shadows: Bloodlust is a 13-part miniseries released in January and February 2015. It's available to pre-order here.