In July, Peter Davison returns as the Fifth Doctor in new stories picking up where 2019’s Warzone/Conversion left off. Doctor Who: Time Apart is a four-part anthology written by Steve Lyons, Jacqueline Rayner, Tommy Donbavand and Kate Thorman. Having left his companions behind, the Doctor travels alone into the history of his favourite planet, discovering ghosts, shadows, fairy tales and even a dancing plague.   

August sees the return of his TARDIS team; Tegan (Janet Fielding), Nyssa (Sarah Sutton) and Marc (George Watkins) star in an adventure of their own, foiling an alien plot by none other than the Slitheen. Meanwhile, the Doctor visits 19th century London, investigating secrets that threaten to change the fabric of time altogether. Doctor Who: Thin Time/Madquake by Dan Abnett and Guy Adams is a double-bill full-cast audio drama.  

Finally, in September, the Seventh Doctor, Ace and Hex board the infamous cursed sailing vessel, The Flying Dutchman, in a story by Gemma Arrowsmith, before finding themselves trapped in a perfectly ordinary house where the normal rules of time do not apply. Displaced, by Katharine Armitage, stars Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred and Philip Olivier. This release has been brought forward in the schedule due to production changes in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.  

Each of these three Doctor Who Monthly Adventures releases is now available for pre-order, priced at £14.99 for a collector’s edition CD or just £12.99 as a download.

Fifth Doctor producer, Scott Handcock, said: “This year’s run of Fifth Doctor adventures picks up from the end of last year, with the Doctor travelling solo in the first two releases, and his friends abandoned on an alien planet. When they reunite, it’s fair to say they have to rebuild their relationships, all the while dealing with ghosts from the past, figures from history… and even a familiar set of foes from Christopher Eccleston’s adventures in the form of the Slitheen!  

“It’s been a rollercoaster exploring the dynamic of this TARDIS team going forward, and always an electric experience to be in studio with Peter, Janet, Sarah and George! These two releases won’t be the last we hear from this TARDIS team, with two more stories due out in 2021!” 

More story details for each release will be released soon. The previously announced Fifth Doctor stories, The Lost Resort, and Perils and Nightmares, will now be released at a later date.  

Further to the recent announcement regarding the relaunch of Doctor Who audio drama ranges at Big Finish, listeners keen to complete their collection of Monthly Adventures should read the following:  

• a 3-release CD / download subscription is now available, starting from #271, #272 or #273, which should enable the majority of subscribers to extend their subscription to the end of the range. Three-release subscriptions are priced at £32.50 for collector’s edition CDs and £27.50 for downloads. 

• any existing subscribers who find themselves unable to purchase #274 or #275 via a combination of the 12/6/3-release options should contact [email protected], who will be able to process their orders offline. 

Please note that Big Finish is currently operating a digital-first release schedule. The mailout of collector’s edition CDs will be delayed, 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.