Big Finish Productions lost a cherished friend and colleague on 8th May 2014 when Paul Spragg, the cheerful and much-loved person at the heart of our office, passed away suddenly. 

Paul was a champion of new writing talent, and to honour his memory, Big Finish holds an annual open opportunity for authors never before published by us to write a Doctor Who short story. 

This year, the theme was the Time War, and we invited story proposals inspired by this subject at the heart of Big Finish’s Doctor Who ranges. 

The judges chose War Stories, an adventure featuring the Twelfth Doctor and Bill, written by Patrick Ross. 

The Intergalactic Fringe Festival spans a whole planet. Its programme offers millions of shows, so the Doctor and Bill can choose anything from anti-grav acrobats to the quantum cabaret. 

But the Doctor is alarmed when he attends a play about the Time War. It’s not just that it tells his personal history – its performance could unravel the universe. 

The 2024 judging panel were Big Finish’s creative director Nicholas Briggs, former Doctor Who brand editorial manager Gabby De Matteis, producer of the Doctor Who – Short Trips range Peter Anghelides, and Big Finish producer Dominic Martin. 

Nicholas Briggs said: “War Stories really stood out for me as a fascinating and engaging notion for a story. I thought it was a very thought-provoking idea and worked really well with Bill Potts and the Twelfth Doctor.” 

Gabby De Matteis added: “War Stories is a tale that’s smart and entertaining in equal measure, with a clever theatrical setting and sharp humour. Its original aspects have been crafted so vividly and for me it gets the Twelfth Doctor and Bill’s relationship spot on! It's been a pleasure and an honour to help judge this very special competition as always.” 

“All the universe is a stage!” said Dominic Martin. “War Stories is such a creative take on the impact of the Time War, told through a narrow lens in the life of the Twelfth Doctor. It's a thrill to revisit this era, and explore that Doctor’s perspective of the Time War through such a stellar idea.” 

And, Peter Anghelides said: “We had such a variety of ideas inspired by our Time War theme. And because we’d said people could use them, we thought that the winner would feature the Daleks. Instead, Patrick Ross subverted our expectations with a story that is set after the Time War but still has the concept at its core.” 

Doctor Who – Short Trips: War Stories, read by Alan Cox, will be released as a free download exclusively from the Big Finish website on 29 December 2024, which would have been Paul Spragg’s birthday. 

The writer’s original proposal and studio script will also be included with the download. 

The previous winners of the Paul Spragg Memorial Short Trips Opportunity, all available to download for free, are:   

2016: Doctor Who: Forever Fallen by Joshua Wanisko  

2017: Doctor Who: Landbound by Selim Ulug 

2018: Doctor Who: The Last Day at Work by Harry Draper 

2019: Doctor Who: The Best Laid Plans by Ben Tedds

2020: Doctor Who: Free Speech by Eugenie Pusenjak 

2021: Doctor Who: The Lichyrwick Abomination by Joe Vevers

2022: Doctor Who: The World Tree by Nick Slawicz

2023: Doctor Who: The Hoxteth Time Capsule by Paul Davis