Blake’s 7 is back, in The Spoils of War! Original cast members Paul Darrow, Jan Chappell, Michael Keating, Steven Pacey and Jacqueline Pearce all return to once again recreate their roles from the classic TV series, joined by Alistair Lock and Yasmin Bannerman as Dayna.

Blake’s 7, originally airing from 1978 to 1981, has continued in classic audio adventures at Big Finish, and furthers the story of the renegades, rebelling against Supreme Commander Servelan.

In The Spoils of War, Blake (leader of the rag tag team of convicts that have escaped) has left the Liberator, and Avon (played by Paul Darrow) is leading the group.

This box set works around series 3 of the original TV series. The first story, Liberation by Steve Lyons, is set immediately after the TV episode Powerplay, and focuses on Dayna who is still getting used to being a member of the Liberator crew. Outpost by Christopher Cooper, is also set shortly after Powerplay and features Tarrant and Vila on a mission to a Federation installation abandoned after the galactic war. Close Enough, by Sophia McDougall, finds Avon acquiring an up close and personal insight into what it’s like to be a telepath. Finally, the pursuit of alien technology in Solus, by George Mann, leads the Liberator crew to a deadly encounter with President Servalan.

We caught up with Producer and Director of these new adventures, John Ainsworth: "We've been so thrilled by the very positive reaction to the casting of Yasmin Bannerman as the new Dayna, people really seem to have warmed to her before they've even heard the full episodes, which is brilliant. Yasmin was so excited - as well as a little nervous - to take on the role, as watching Dayna in the TV episodes on their original broadcast had made quite an impression on her. She really took to the part in the studio, and instinctively knew exactly what was required for the role.

"It's been amazing to work with all of the original cast members, and even after just producing a few episodes so far, it feels like we've known each other for a long time. We are just about to start work on the next box set of four adventures, which is the start of a whole new 'season' of twelve adventures which will relate an important but previously untold chapter of the Blake's 7 story."

Yasmin was not unfamiliar with Blake’s 7, having watched the series when it was first shown. “My brothers and I were huge Blake’s 7 fans as kids and watched every single episode from the first till the last,” she says. “Dayna was my heroine. I loved her. In an era when very few people of colour were to be seen on TV and fewer in any positive light, Dayna was a young black woman who was smart, accomplished, courageous, driven and kick-ass! She made me so proud. Needless to say, I was absolutely gobsmacked to be offered the role. My brothers are thrilled!”

Blake’s 7: The Spoils of War is available now, priced at £25 on Download and £28 on CD. All CD purchases unlock a download copy of the release, which works with the Big Finish App.

And from October 2017 Blake's 7 - The Classic Adventures: Crossfire will be released; a total of three box sets building into a twelve-episode series. Pre-orders are now available, either at £25 on Download and £28 on CD each. Or you can save in a bundle, and get Blake's 7 - Classic Adventures Series 3 & 4 bundles for £80 or £100 respectively.