Alex Kingston returns as the time-travelling archaeologist in The Death and Life of River Song, a brand-new audio drama series exploring her adventures away from her Time Lord husband, which begins today.

The first box set in the series, Last Words, is set after River’s first – and from her point of view, seemingly final – appearance in 2008 Doctor Who story Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead. In that story, River died saving thousands of lives, but was kept alive in the Library’s digital storage. Now, she finds herself resurrected in a new clone body.

The man behind this resurrection is 61st-century tech mogul and doomsday prepper Garrison Clay (voiced by star of TV’s The Crown and Sense and Sensibility, Greg Wise). Solar flares are on their way to ravage Earth, and Garrison, as part of his scheme to survive the apocalypse, has a mission for River.

Along the way, River teams up with the mysterious homme fatale Sam Avner (Jamie Parker – Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Treadstone). She also meets Lazar (Robert Whitelock) and Vira (Christine Kavanagh), who are working on a project to save humanity – Doctor Who fans may recall both characters also appeared in The Ark in Space, which makes Last Words a semi-prequel to the 1975 TV story. 

Also guest-starring in Last Words are Jane Booker, Shogo Miyakita, Jamie Zubairi, Jacob Daniels, Andrew James Spooner, Glen McCready, Issy Van Randwyck, and Nicholas Boulton.

The Death and Life of River Song: Last Words is now available to purchase exclusively here, as a limited edition four-CD box set (plus digital download) for £29.99, or as a digital download only for £22.99.

Wrenched from her digital afterlife in the Library, River Song finds herself on sixty-first century Earth, resurrected in a clone body. Billionaire tech mogul Garrison Clay has a mystery to solve, and he’s selected River as the person to solve it.
 
Armed with only her sonic screwdriver and a fake ID, River heads out into a world soon to be ravaged by solar flares... where danger stalks her at every turn.
 
In the same vein as the acclaimed 2023 release The Diary of River Song: Friend of the Family, Last Words is a ‘concept album’-style release penned by a single writer – this time, Rob Valentine. The epic story is divided into four episodes:
 
Apokalypsis
Fate & Fatality
The Black Hours
Book of the Dead

Alex Kingston said: “I love this series of episodes, it’s very dark. And although it's science fiction, it feels very close to what our real future as a planet could be heading towards – not only with the solar flares that are out of our control, but with the billionaires who are in many ways responsible, and who will try and save themselves at the expense of everybody else. It’s really timely that Rob has written this story.
 
“I was thrilled when I heard that Garrison Clay was going to be played by Greg Wise. I can't believe that he has never done anything on Doctor Who before! It’s lovely to see him coming into the recording studio and being so excited, and it’s such a wonderful family for him to join.”

Her co-star Greg Wise added: “This is the first time Alex and I have worked together, so it’s been lots of fun. Pretty much my entire career has been playing baddies, but it has to be said baddies always have the best lines. And I love the interaction of my character with River – she’s glorious!”

Big Finish listeners can purchase Last Words in a multi-buy bundle with Volumes 2 and 3 of The Death and Life of River Song, which are both due for release in 2025, for just £80 (collector’s edition CDs + downloads) or £66 (downloads only) exclusively here.

All the above prices include the special pre-order discount and are subject to change after general release. Please note: the collector’s edition CD box set is strictly limited to 1,250 copies and will not be repressed.

Please note that Big Finish is currently operating a digital-first release schedule. The mail-out of collector’s edition CDs may be delayed due to factors beyond our control, but all purchases of this release unlock a digital copy that can be immediately downloaded or played on the Big Finish app from the release date.