Writer Lisa McMullin said: “I’m obsessed with these Chronicles – I think it’s a series that we should have had on television. To be honest, I pretty much begged producer Alfie Shaw to let me be involved!

“Safiyya said in one of the behind-the-scenes interviews that they didn’t feel Valarie had closure. So, I really wanted to write a story where Valarie kicked back against the Doctor. Saffy and Jake were up for it and I’m delighted I got a chance to be part of this phenomenal series.

“You don’t need to listen to this release to make sense of the series arc, I don’t want people to feel they must have it for the series to make sense.”

Jacob Dudman added: “Saffy and I have both been feeling quite sad about the range coming to the end – even though we made the decision to end it, which is a strange thing in itself!

“Producer Alfie Shaw floated the idea of a continuation of the last story in All of Time and Space as a one-off special release, and explained the direction he wanted to take it in. It felt like there was one more story to tell before the forthcoming box set was released, and this really brings the whole thing together.

“It was great to do. I’d sort of come to terms with the fact that we were only doing two more box sets, and that was it. But I couldn’t help myself and agreed to do this special because they are the most fun. And what a script! It was fun to play, and also, to have a two-hander with Saffy was great because we haven’t done that before.”

Safiyya Ingar added: “Broken Hearts has a real level of intimacy. You rarely have that opportunity with actors you work with, it’s what you strive for. I’ve been on productions where you do weeks of team building and bonding exercises at the beginning of rehearsals, to try and be galvanised and make yourself feel like a coherent group.

“I remember when Jake and I met when we were recording the first box set. We came out for lunch and someone asked, ‘So how long have you guys known each other?’ And we were like, ‘We just met three hours ago!’ and it was the most rewarding feeling to just know that we already had that bonding from the off.

“Just knowing that I’m part of something this special is incredible. I’m so proud of this. I don’t think words can do it justice. Everything about these box sets makes me excited and honoured to be a part of this universe.”

Producer Alfie Shaw concluded: “It’s a strange range, The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles. As it doesn’t feature the actor that originated the part, there’s an extra pressure on it. The first set had to be a hit or else the next three would have withered into obscurity. The second needed to be a hit or else the first one could just be written off as a fluke! The series only really succeeds if we get listeners telling other people, ‘Yes, it isn’t Matt Smith but you have to listen to it anyway – it’s that good.’

“Fortunately, the reaction has been extremely positive. It’s immensely gratifying to see people adding episodes from this run to their favourite Eleventh Doctor stories or adding Valarie to their list of favourite companions. We knew this was our final run. We knew this might well be the last Eleventh Doctor episode at Big Finish for a while. The goal was always to have a series for Eleventh Doctor fans that people could listen to and say, ‘Here’s a run of Big Finish stories for you, and they are great.’ So far, we seem to be on track to deliver on that which is very satisfying.”

Jacob Dudman (The Doctor), Safiyya Ingar (Valarie Lockwood)