Ruth Bradley Joins the Eighth Doctor

'Dark Eyes is a new, epic story, a jumping-on point!' explains writer, director and executive producer Nick Briggs. 'It’s a whole new era of Doctor Who in a box! It's certainly bigger on the inside in that respect. My aim was to join the Doctor when he's at the point of desperation after having lost a close friend. But it's also a story about him finding someone new and finding new hope.'

And the new hope comes to him in the form of a young Irish girl called Molly O'Sullivan, a Voluntary Aid Detachment nursing assistant, saving lives during the First World War (1914-18). Taking on the role of Molly is Ruth Bradley (perhaps best known for her leading roles in Primeval - showing now on Saturday evenings! - and the recent ITV series Titanic).

‘Ruth has taken to the role with electric enthusiasm,’ says Briggs. ‘She and Paul have been riding horses, flying planes and diving under the waves – all on the first day! They’ve been having incredible fun.’

The four instalments of Dark Eyes are entitled The Great War, Fugitives, The Tangled Web and ‘X’ and the Daleks. Featuring alongside the Doctor, his new girl and his arch-enemies (Nick Briggs again, of course) are Peter Egan - as a new regeneration of the Time Lord Straxus - Toby Jones (Doctor Who: Amy’s Choice, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Harry Potter) as the mysterious Kotris and Ian Cullen (Ixta inThe Aztecs) as Nadeyan, native of the planet Srangor.

Doctor Who: Dark Eyes is available to order now and is released in November 2012. It's part of our reduced price bundles package, and can be pre-ordered on its own or as part of a package with the upcoming Voyages of Jago & Litefoot, Love and War and UNIT: Dominion. Just click on subscribe to access our special deals for all of them.