Dame Siân Phillips will take on the role of the Director, an evil alien Usurian, the galaxy’s most oily, money-obsessed species, determined to drain the Earth of its resources – and only the Doctor (Tom Baker) and Leela (Louise Jameson) can stop her.  

Of playing a rapacious intergalactic capitalist, actor Siân Phillips said: “This is such a wonderful chance to be in something so iconic. Doctor Who is part of my lifetime’s experience and it was great fun to do.  

“I don’t know why I like playing nasty people but I do. The Director is funny as well – there's quite a lot of comedy because she’s so full of herself.” 

Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor Adventures Series 10 Volume 1 is now available to pre-order as a collector's edition box set (on CD at £24.99) and as a digital download (at £19.99), HERE!

This volume comprises two cracking classic-era TARDIS tales, as follows:  

The World Traders by Guy Adams 

When a day out in 21st Century London leads to the TARDIS being impounded, the Doctor and Leela find themselves getting involved with the mysterious Amapan Investments, a company that’s managed to become remarkably successful in a remarkably short amount of time. 

So what’s their secret? The Doctor and Leela are about to find out.  

The Usurians have come to Earth. And they have big plans. 

The Day of the Comet by Jonathan Morris 

The TARDIS brings the Doctor and Leela to the ruins of a once-great city racked by earthquakes, where they find a giant rocket on the side of a mountain. The planet is due to be destroyed by a comet in a year’s time and this ship is the only way off world.  

But is everything quite as it seems? At least one person in the city thinks the comet is going to come to obliterate the planet much sooner than people believe. 

Which would be bad enough - if there wasn’t a far worse secret hidden behind the scenes... 

Producer David Richardson said: “We’re going back to that gap between Seasons 14 and 15: back to the wooden console room, back to the Fourth Doctor and his eager-to-learn savage companion. 

“Tom and Louise were such a formative part of my childhood that the thrill of working with them has never abated in the slightest, and here we have a run of exciting four-part stories that feel so absolutely authentic for the era and take the TARDIS travellers to many corners of time and space. It’s one heck of a ride!” 

Script editor John Dorney added: “The World Traders by Guy Adams is a prequel to the 1977 television story The Sunmakers and if that doesn’t excite you straight away then I don’t know what will. It’s a fun business satire with Tom Baker facing off against the legendary Siân Phillips. What’s not to like?   

“The second story in the set, Day of the Comet, is a typically inventive Jonathan Morris script, with all the twists and turns we’ve come to expect from him. I love the way its tone varies unexpectedly so you’re never exactly going to be sure what the next episode is!” 

Other cast members across the two stories include; Janet Henfrey (Doctor Who), Ramon Tikaram (Jupiter Ascending), Joanna Hole (Tenko), Jon Culshaw (Dead Ringers), Sara Powell (Holby Blue), Mandi Symonds (Scrubbers) and Chris Porter (Murder on the Orient Express).  

Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor Adventures Series 10 Volume 1 is now available to pre-order as a collector's edition box set (on CD at £24.99) and as a digital download (at £19.99), HERE!

Plus, Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor Adventures Series 10 Volume 2 is due for release in February 2021 and is currently available to pre-order HERE as a collector’s edition box set (on CD at £24.99) and as a digital download (at £19.99). Big Finish listeners can save money by pre-ordering both volumes together in a bundle for £45 on CD or £40 on download.