Doctor Who: The Early Adventures authentically recreate the earliest years of the classic television series, with narration and a full cast of actors. They're audio adventures in black and white!

The range returns in September 2016 with new stories featuring Carole Ann Ford, William Russell, Maureen O'Brien, Peter Purves and Jean Marsh – while also introducing Jemma Powell as Barbara, a role originally played on television by the late, great Jacqueline Hill.

‘I’ve always needed a great deal of convincing to recast the Doctor and companions on audio,’ says producer David Richardson, ‘but after our success with Tim Treloar as the Third Doctor and Elliot Chapman as Ben Jackson, I became more open to recasting Barbara, who was played so wonderfully by Jacqueline Hill. Really there was only one choice - Jemma Powell, who had played Jacqueline (and played Jacqueline playing Barbara) in An Adventure in Space and Time. Her arrival at our studio was enthusiastically embraced by her co-stars, who were so admiring of her performance in Mark Gatiss’s brilliant special.’

Series 3 begins with Doctor Who: The Age of Endurance by Nick Wallace, set aboard the deep space vessel, the Dreadnought. The guest cast include Gethin Anthony (Game of Thrones, Aquarius), Andy Secombe (Star Wars: The Phantom Menace) and Rachel Atkins (The Archers).

The TARDIS materialises on board a still and eerie spaceship. When a squad of soldiers land, they realise they've found themselves in the middle of a war zone. With one of their crew trapped by the enemy, the Doctor and his friends find themselves locked in a desperate race for survival. Vast warships manoeuvre around each other as both sides try to out-think their opponents, flying into ever more dangerous areas of space.

The stakes could not be higher. But as ever in war, the lines between good and evil are hard to define. Will anyone survive to claim the moral high ground?

In October, Doctor Who: The Fifth Traveller by Phillip Lawrence introduces new companion Jospa, played by James Joyce (UNIT: The New Series, Charlotte Pollard), alongside Elliot Cowan (Da Vinci's Demons, The Frankenstein Chronicles) and Orlando Jones and Kate Byers.

The Doctor, Ian, Barbara, Vicki and Jospa land the TARDIS on the homeworld of the Arunde. Emerging into the jungle that covers the planet and encountering the strange wildlife dwelling within, the travellers are unaware that the true rulers live high above them in the trees.

The ape-like members of the tribe are in trouble. The last Matriar's nest has been lost to the surface, and the people are hungry... Maybe these strangers may be responsible. And some believe they may be salvation.

The TARDIS crew are about to find themselves in the middle of somebody else's battle. But there's more at stake than even they can know.

Playwrights Robert Khan and Tom Salinsky (whose credits include Coalition and Kingmaker) make their Big Finish debut with Doctor Who: The Ravelli Conspiracy, a historical story set in Florence in the year 1514, in which the First Doctor encounters Niccolo Machiavelli (Mark Frost). The guest cast includes Robert Hands (Doctor Who: The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances), Jamie Ballard (Penny Dreadful, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture) and Olivia Poulet (The Thick of It and Emma Peel in Big Finish’s The Avengers).

Finally, the First Doctor faces a first encounter with a race that will one day become an old enemy, in December’s Doctor Who: The Sontarans by Simon Guerrier – with Dan Starkey appearing as the iconic invaders, alongside Jemma Churchill (Upstairs Downstairs), Rosanna Miles and the legendary John Banks.

‘It’s established in The Time Warrior in 1974 that the Third Doctor has encountered The Sontarans before,’ says David. ‘One line of dialogue fired up our imaginations, and Simon’s thrilling script is the result - a full-blooded war story set in deep space.’

You can pre-order the entire Third Series of Early Adventures today from the Big Finish website. Each release is available individually or as part of a money-saving subscription, with complimentary digital copies included with all CD orders. With each title available at least a month before their general release, pre-ordering ensures you'll be an early listener of the Early Adventures!

Series 1 and Series 2 of The Early Adventures are still available to order now, either as series bundles or individual stories. Series 4 and Series 5 are also available to subscribe to now, for release in 2017 and 2018 respectively. For more adventures from the First Doctor and his companions, check out our First Doctor Collected page here for a full list of titles.