Big Finish Productions is sad to report the death of Justin Richards, a writer and script editor who worked with the company on many audio productions. 

Born in Epping in 1961, Richards studied English and Theatre at the University of Warwick before beginning his career as a developer and technical writer at IBM, also contributing articles to Doctor Who Monthly. 

His first published fiction was for the Virgin New Adventures series of Doctor Who novels, beginning with 1994’s Theatre of War. He soon became a regular writer of Doctor Who prose fiction. In the 2000s, his contributions to the New Series Adventures range and related reference books introduced a new generation of Doctor Who fans to a universe beyond the televised episodes. As the Creative Consultant for the BBC Books range, he contributed his expertise as an editor and supported numerous new writers. 

Richards’ involvement with Big Finish Productions began when he scripted the Doctor Who – The Monthly Adventures title Whispers of Terror, which was released in November 1999. He wrote many more scripts for audio adventures set in the Doctor Who universe, in ranges such as The Fourth Doctor Adventures, Gallifrey, and The Diary of River Song. He was the script editor on the Jago & Litefoot series as well as several volumes of Blake’s 7 audio dramas. 

Outside of the Doctor Who world, Richards found success with his original young adult fiction novels, including the 1930s London-set mystery series The Invisible Detective, the supernatural Victorian series Department of Unclassified Artefacts, and the sci-fi series Time Runners. He also co-wrote the Chance Twins series with acclaimed novelist Jack Higgins. 

Richards leaves behind his wife Alison and his two sons, Chris and Julian, the latter of whom has followed in his father’s footsteps and become a writer of Big Finish Doctor Who audio dramas.

Julian Richards said: "There is no shortage of places where I can, and have, and will, talk about Justin’s merits as a father: his kindness, his care, his wisdom, his love. He was the finest father I could ever have wished for, and I will say that every chance I get. 

"But here I also want to talk about him as a writer and the abiding and driving compassion of his writing. He adored writing, and especially writing Doctor Who. He wrote because it was a chance to share not just stories, but the feelings he’d had growing up with them. 

"That compassion, that absolute love that made him want to share them, infused and bled out of everything he wrote. It got me reading, it got me writing. Dad’s stories, not just those he wrote but those he read to me as a child, and even those he told me like the mad dash from his exciting childhood trip to see Doctor Who actually being rehearsed (The Web of Fear episode 3, forever fresher in his memory with the yeti’s human from the waist up) to get home in time to see Salamander sucked out of the TARDIS at the end of The Enemy of the World, brought worlds to life for me and my brother, as they did for countless readers and listeners.  

"Dad adored the work he did for Big Finish, and the people he worked with: for Doctor Who, for Bernice Summerfield, for Gallifrey, for all the other ranges he dipped into. And most especially for Jago & Litefoot. 

"In the end, in a way that’s almost infuriatingly common, he wrote what I’m trying to say better than I can back in 1996. So I’ll hand over to him now, from The Sands of Time: 

'He listened, always. I was always talking sense when I spoke to Dad; I was always interesting when I spoke to Dad; I was always right when I spoke to Dad, even if he then told me something that was even more right.'"

Everyone at Big Finish Productions would like send our deepest condolences to Justin's family and friends. 

Big Finish’s creative director Nicholas Briggs said: “Justin was such a kind and decent chap. Thoroughly reasonable and relentlessly scientific in his approach to everything. He was a mild-mannered man, never given to outbursts, but with the superpower of a passion for stories in general, and in particular, Doctor Who. 

“That passion was woven into every script he wrote, but it shone just as brightly in his role as a champion for other creators. Immediately after the release of The Sirens of Time, he was on the phone, eager to offer support and encouragement and nudging me toward novel-writing. (It took until the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who for him finally to get his way.) Justin possessed a visionary persistence and could spend years advocating for a project he believed in until it finally became a reality.

“Along the way, he and I had spent many hours together at various cafés and restaurants in London, plotting all sorts of adventures for the Daleks, in fantastical film projects that sadly never saw the light of day. But whenever we met, especially when he attended studio sessions for his many Big Finish scripts, we would smirk and make secretive remarks about our many fiendish masterplans. 

“It feels somehow fitting that when I last communicated with him, it was to send him a special, recorded message with the Daleks singing ‘Happy Birthday, dear Justin!’. It was an honour to know him.” 

David Richardson, the producer of many Big Finish stories written by Richards, said: “As a very shy and very young teenager, I joined the Doctor Who Appreciation Society and, keen to make like-minded friends, I advertised in their pen pals section. I received a reply from Justin, who was a year older than me, and we became firm friends. We first met face to face at a convention in London where, I recall, An Unearthly Child was screened for the first time since 1963. We watched together in awed silence. 

“We would go and stay at each others’ homes – he’d come to Nottingham, and I’d go and stay with his family in the Rectory in the beautifully named village of Dumbleton. Gradually our social circle grew: Peter Anghelides, Gary Russell, Craig Hinton, Andy Lane, Peter Lovelady… We would gather at conventions, meet as a group and stay at each other’s homes, and drink lots of lager. Justin, like several of our group, went on to be a hugely successful writer: away from his many Doctor Who books, he wrote the Invisible Detective, Time Runners and Department of Unclassified Artefacts series of novels. How I envy a generation of readers who grew up with his work! 

“Our group was delighted when Justin met the wonderful Alison, and subsequently so happy for them when the equally talented sons Julian and Chris came along. Sadly, life took us in different directions for a decade or so, but when I joined Big Finish as a producer I was really eager to get Justin on board, and he wrote excellent scripts for many ranges I worked on. Significantly, he was the series script editor on Jago & Litefoot, which was close to all of our hearts, and the success of it largely belongs to Justin, who knew exactly what it should be, how it worked, and what stories we should be telling. Of course, in Justin’s hands, it went on to thrive in 14 much-loved series, ending only because of the death of the beloved Trevor Baxter. 

“Justin’s talents go without saying, but for those who only know him through his work, it’s worth stating that he was a genuinely lovely person. People wanted to be around him because he was decent and kind; a benevolent force for good with vast amounts of talent. 

“He’ll be missed by everyone who knew him. Deepest condolences to his family, who he adored.” 

• Justin Richards, writer, born 14 September 1961, died 28 June 2026.