Knowing where to start with Big Finish audio dramas can be daunting. But many series and ranges are designed as perfect ‘jumping-on points’ for new listeners; no previous knowledge necessary. This is where characters and concepts are introduced for the first time, or story arcs begin. (If you're completely new to Doctor Who on audio, you might want to read this first.) 

The best way to get started listening to Doctor Who audio drama is to pick a Doctor or character you like and investigate the Big Finish ranges they star in. For each Doctor, we’ve listed the ideal jumping-on points below. 

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The First Doctor 

When Big Finish’s The First Doctor Adventures range began, the Doctor was voiced by David Bradley (who played him on screen in Twice Upon a Time and The Power of the Doctor). This series starts with 2017’s The First Doctor Adventures: Volume 01, a box set of two adventures also featuring Susan, Ian and Barbara played by the actors who portrayed them in An Adventure in Space and Time. 

In more recent releases, the First Doctor has been voiced by Stephen Noonan. To begin your travels in the TARDIS with Noonan’s Doctor, we recommend you start with The Outlaws, his first box set, which includes two standalone adventures also starring Lauren Cornelius as Dodo. 

The Second Doctor 

Our range The Second Doctor Adventures began in 2022 with Beyond War Games. This box set begins a story arc following the Doctor (Michael Troughton) and Jamie (Frazer Hines) as they’re sent on covert missions by the Time Lords, set after the Second Doctor’s final TV story The War Games. All the subsequent Second Doctor Adventures volumes released so far continue this arc, so to follow the story, Beyond War Games is the place to start. 

The Third Doctor 

Since 2015, the Third Doctor has had his own range of audio adventures, with Tim Treloar voicing the splendid Time Lord. Most of this Doctor’s Big Finish box sets are fairly standalone, but if you’re finding it difficult to pick, we’d recommend you begin right back at the start, with The Third Doctor Adventures: Volume 01. This set has two UNIT-era stories also starring Katy Manning as Jo Grant and Richard Franklin as Mike Yates. 

The Fourth Doctor 

The Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) has had numerous adventures on audio since 2012, but the starting point is Destination Nerva. This story, which begins The Fourth Doctor Adventures: Series 1, picks up immediately after the TV serial The Talons of Weng-Chiang. The Doctor and Leela (Louise Jameson) follow a distress signal which leads them to the Nerva Beacon (as seen in The Ark in Space and Revenge of the Cybermen). 

The Fifth Doctor 

Peter Davison has voiced the Fifth Doctor for Big Finish since our very first Doctor Who audio release, 1999’s The Sirens of Time, and the incarnation’s current range was launched in 2014 with The Fifth Doctor Adventures: Volume 01. The two stories in this box set are set shortly after the Fifth Doctor’s TV debut, Castrovalva, with the Doctor getting used to his new body as he travels with Adric (Matthew Waterhouse), Tegan (Janet Fielding), and Nyssa (Sarah Sutton). 

The Sixth Doctor 

For fans of Ol’ Sixie (Colin Baker), we recommend you start with 2020’s box set The Sixth Doctor and Peri Volume 01. This comprises four exciting standalone adventures also featuring Nicola Bryant as Peri Brown. After that, most volumes of The Sixth Doctor Adventures can be enjoyed independently, though Water Worlds begins a story arc that continues across three subsequent box sets. 

The Seventh Doctor 

Like the previous two incarnations, Sylvester McCoy’s Seventh Doctor has been with Big Finish since the beginning, so there are plenty of audio dramas following him to choose from. One possible starting point would be the 2018 volume The Seventh Doctor New Adventures Volume 01. While the companions in this, Roz (Yasmin Bannerman) and Chris (Travis Oliver) originated in the New Adventures novels, no prior reading is necessary to follow the four thrilling stories. 

The Eighth Doctor 

The Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann) leads a complicated life, and there are many eras within his timeline to delve into. A great option is his travels with Lucie Miller (Sheridan Smith), which took place over four series of adventures, inspired by the format of the revived TV series and originally broadcast on BBC Radio 7. This begins with The Eighth Doctor and Lucie Miller Series 01, a collection which offers eight full-cast adventures at a bargain price. 

Following on from this, the Eighth Doctor has starred in a series of epic sagas, each comprising four box sets – Dark Eyes, Doom Coalition, Ravenous, and Stranded. The narrative across these four story arcs is continuous, so to explore this era, we’d recommend starting with Dark Eyes 1 (though it does reference some plot points from the end of the Lucie Miller series).  

The Eighth Doctor has also appeared in a series of Time War adventures, set towards the end of his lifetime, beginning with the 2017 box set Time War 1. 

The War Doctor 

The late Sir John Hurt voiced the War Doctor in a series of four box sets, which also star Jacqueline Pearce as Cardinal Ollistra. This arc began in 2015 with Only the Monstrous, which is a recommended jumping-on point for listeners interested in the Doctor’s Time War adventures.  

Since 2021, Jonathon Carley has taken over the role. He played a younger version of the War Doctor in the series The War Doctor Begins, which had a story arc spanning six box sets, beginning with Forged in Fire. Set immediately after his regeneration, this volume is the beginning of the War Doctor’s story. 

In 2024, a new series starring Carley, The War Doctor Rises, began. Each box set in this series is a standalone epic adventure (though the first volume, Morbius the Mighty, picks up some plot threads from Dark Gallifrey: Morbius). 

The Ninth Doctor 

The audio adventures of the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) began in 2021 and first ran for three series of stories, all set before his TV debut, with the Doctor travelling alone. The starting point for this era is the box set Ravagers, in which, over three episodes, the Doctor takes on an immersive games empire and creatures attempting to devour the universe. 

From August 2025, a new bimonthly series of audio dramas will see Eccleston reunited on audio for the first time with Billie Piper, who plays companion Rose Tyler. This series starts with Snare, which picks up the story from after the TV episode Father’s Day.

The Tenth Doctor 

David Tennant’s Doctor made his Big Finish debut in 2017 with The Tenth Doctor Adventures: Volume 01, a box set which remains a great starting point. Co-starring Catherine Tate as fan-favourite companion Donna Noble, it’s a trio of fun adventures set across space and time. 

Another option is the Dalek Universe saga, which runs across three box sets, beginning with Dalek Universe 1. In this full season of Tenth Doctor adventures, the Doctor is plucked out of his timeline and finds himself in a universe before the Time War, where he must team up with the Space Security Service against threats including the Daleks and the Mechonoids. 

The Eleventh Doctor 

From 2018 to 2024, the Eleventh Doctor was voiced on Big Finish audios by Jacob Dudman. This began with The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles: Volume 01, a box set of four standalone adventures which makes for a great starting point. 

Following this, you may want to check out the story arc in which the Doctor teams up with original companion Valarie Lockwood (Safiyya Ingar), which ran for four box sets of full-cast audio episodes. The starting point for this saga is 2022 box set Geronimo!, which requires no prior listening. 

The Twelfth Doctor 

For audio adventures with the Twelfth Doctor, the best place to start is The Twelfth Doctor Chronicles: Volume 01, a box set of four narrated stories. Featuring Jacob Dudman as the Doctor, with Samuel Anderson as Danny Pink and Ingrid Oliver as Osgood, these stories are set across the incarnation’s era and can all be enjoyed independently. 

There are then two further volumes of The Twelfth Doctor Chronicles, which pair the Doctor with Time Agent Keira Sanstrom (Bhavnisha Parmar). 

The Thirteenth Doctor 

The latest Doctor to land at Big Finish is the Thirteenth (Jodie Whittaker), who makes her audio debut in July 2025 with the first in a bimonthly series of twelve full-cast adventures. Set between Series 12 and 13 of TV Doctor Who, this series’ story arc follows the Doctor and her companion Yaz (Mandip Gill). It all begins with Vampire Weekend, in which an ancient enemy is on the loose at a hen do. 

The Fugitive Doctor 

Jo Martin’s mysterious incarnation of the Doctor is on the run from her former employers, the Division, in her own full-cast audio drama series. Listeners wanting to know the secrets of the Fugitive Doctor should start with Most Wanted, which kicks off a story arc in which she’s pursued by the Division’s zealous agent Cosmogon (Alice Krige). 

The Worlds of Doctor Who 

As well as the continuing adventures of the Doctors, Big Finish produce audio dramas following many other characters from the Doctor Who universe. Lovers of the Doctor’s wife can start her audio adventures with The Diary of River Song: Series 01, while Rose Tyler had her own universe-crossing story arc beginning with The Dimension Cannon 1. 

Fan-favourite classic duo Jago & Litefoot had their own full-cast audio series which ran for 13 box sets, beginning with 2010’s Series 01. And the Doctor’s nemesis, the Master, has appeared across their many incarnations – we recommend starting with The War Master: Only the Good, Missy: Series 01, or Call Me Master: Inner Demons. 

These are just a few examples of the many stories that take place across The Worlds of Doctor Who, which will hopefully give you the starting point to explore Big Finish’s vast range of audio adventures.