With the long, dark nights and the cold, crisp air, Christmas is the perfect time for gathering friends and family, reflecting on the year just gone, and telling a few scary stories. 

It’s no different for the Torchwood family, especially the odd pairing that is Dorothy ‘Ace’ McShane (Sophie Aldred) and St John Colchester (Paul Clayton). 

For their fourth adventure together – after The Red List, Death in Venice and Sabotage – Ace, the young punk turned philanthropist, and Mr Colchester, the military veteran turned Torchwood agent, take a break from international espionage to sit together by the fire. 

They each have two spooky stories to tell the other. There’s a mystery going back to the early days of Torchwood, Mr Colchester’s own terrifying encounter from the 1980s, and more. But through it all, whose is the voice always whispering behind them? 

Torchwood: Reflect is written by Joseph Lidster and guest stars Lisa Bowerman as the whispers. It is now available to own as a collector’s edition CD (+ download for just £10.99) or as a digital download only (for just £8.99), exclusively here. Please note: the collector’s edition CD box set is strictly limited to 1,000 copies and will not be repressed. 

“I will live in the past, the present, and the future. The spirits of all three shall strive within me.” 

Christmas is a time for ghost stories, everyone knows that. But it is also a time to reflect on the past, consider the present and muse on where we might be in the future. 

Dorothy McShane and St John Colchester-Price have gathered to tell each other – and you at home – four stories of horror and hope, of spirits and sadness. 

It’s the longest night of the year. And the lady in green waits… 

Also released today is A Christmas Card from Mr Colchester, a brand-new and totally free Torchwood story, written by James Goss and read by Paul Clayton. St John Colchester has a festive message for you – and a warning. This story comes bundled as a download with Reflect, and can also be downloaded individually, with no other purchases necessary. 

Reflect’s writer Joseph Lidster said: “I was listening to the last Ace and Mr Colchester story and realised, I wrote for Sophie for my first Big Finish 22 years ago and haven't written for her since. I thought, it'd be really nice to write for her again, and I'd love to write for Paul's character. 

“Superficially, they're very different people from very different backgrounds with very different viewpoints on a lot of things. But actually, on the inside, they're very similar. They've both been through stuff in their life, as we've heard in previous stories, and they've both come out of it and are now really solid people.” 

Actor Sophie Aldred added: “There’s a kind of love underneath it all between Ace and Mr Colchester, overlaid by a lot of wonderful witticism, cynicism, a bit of teasing. It's a very real relationship. And telling ghost stories is a shared experience for them – the shared experience of storytelling, but also of being frightened together.” 

And, her co-star Paul Clayton said: “Christmas is a time of reflection. If you've ever experienced Christmas following a bereavement or a breakup, you tend to think about what went wrong. And actually, we all have lots of things that have gone right and lots of things we've done well. It’s those long nights that offer time to think. And ghost stories nearly always are of the night.” 

Torchwood contains adult material and may not be suitable for younger listeners. 

Reflect is the 90th release in the Torchwood monthly range. Big Finish listeners can purchase it as part of a six-release multibuy bundle including Torchwood 85 to 90, for just £60 (collector’s edition CD + download) or £50 (download only), or a twelve-release multibuy bundle of Torchwood 85 to 96, for just £110 (on CD + download) or £96 (on download). 

All the above prices include the special pre-order discount and are subject to change after general release.