BBC Doctor Who audio stories
The BBC have produced a range of different Doctor Who audio stories over the years.
Initial use of the audio format was sporadic, with the BBC themselves releasing just five Doctor Who radio plays in the 20th century. In 1999, Big Finish Productions were granted the license to produce Doctor Who audio drama, use of the medium finally took off. During this time, the BBC has produced two series of audio drama of their own, namely The Nest Cottage Chronicles (2009-2011) and Redacted. (2022-2023)
The BBC did not involve themselves in original narrated Doctor Who audio stories until 1998, with the release of several anthologies associated with their Short Trips series. Since 2008, BBC Audio has produced a consistent series of narrated audio, featuring current Doctors from 2008-2017 and past Doctors from 2018 onwards.
Full-cast stories[[edit] | [edit source]]
Radio plays[[edit] | [edit source]]
| Title | Author | Doctor | Featuring | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doctor Who and the Pescatons | Victor Pemberton | 4th | Sarah | July 1976 |
| Exploration Earth | Bernard Venables | October 1976 | ||
| Slipback | Eric Saward | 6th | Peri | 25 July - 22 August 1985 |
| The Paradise of Death | Barry Letts | 3rd | Sarah, The Brigadier | 27 August - 24 September 1993 |
| The Ghosts of N-Space | 20 January - 24 February 1996 |
The Nest Cottage Chronicles[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Main article: The Nest Cottage Chronicles
Between 2009 and 2011, AudioGo produced three five-episode series later grouped under the umbrella of The Nest Cottage Chronicles. These were Hornets' Nest, Demon Quest and Serpent Crest. Each story was written by Paul Magrs and saw Tom Baker returning as the Fourth Doctor for the first time in performed media since his regeneration in Logopolis. The series also starred Susan Jameson as Mrs Wibbsey and Richard Franklin as Mike Yates.
Redacted[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Main article: Redacted (audio series)
In 2022, Redacted was released as a ten-episode podcast on BBC Sounds. A second series of six episodes was released in 2023. Series 1 was produced by Ella Watts while James Goss produced Series 2 (Redacted). Juno Dawson acted as head writer for both series. Based around a trio of original characters, the series starred Charlie Craggs, Lois Chimimba and Holly Quin-Ankrah as Cleo Proctor, Abby McPhail and Shawna Thompson respectively. The series stayed close to its Doctor Who roots, however, featuring a range of characters and concepts from the televised series, including appearances by Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor in Series 1.
Audiobooks[[edit] | [edit source]]
Audio novelisations[[edit] | [edit source]]
A short audio-novelisation of State of Decay was published by Pickwick International in 1981. Later, AudioGo (later BBC Audio) released three original-to-audio novelisations of their own. These would later be published in the revived Target novelisation range. In addition, as of 2023[update], almost every Target novelisation has been released by BBC Audio in audiobook form. See Audiobooks of novelisations for more information.
| Title | Author | Read by | Doctor | Featuring | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State of Decay | Terrance Dicks | Tom Baker | 4th | Romana II, Adric, K9 Mark II | June 1981 |
| The Stones of Blood | David Fisher | Susan Engel, John Leeson | Romana I, K9 Mark II | 5 May 2011 | |
| The Androids of Tara | John Leeson | 5 July 2012 | |||
| Warriors' Gate | John Lydecker | Jon Culshaw, John Leeson | Romana II, Adric, K9 Mark II | 4 April 2019 |
Short Trips[[edit] | [edit source]]
In 1998, three collections of narrated audio stories associated with the BBC's Short Trips series were released. Six stories in these releases were original-to-audio and are presented below. Three of these would shortly after be published in written form.
| Anthology | Title | Author | Read by | Doctor | Featuring | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short Trips | Degrees of Truth | David A. McIntee | Nicholas Courtney | 3rd | The Brigadier | 1998 |
| Earth and Beyond | Bounty | Peter Anghelides | Paul McGann | 8th | Sam | 7 September 1998 |
| Dead Time | Andrew Miller | |||||
| The People's Temple | Paul Leonard | |||||
| Out of the Darkness | Moon Graffiti | Dave Stone | Colin Baker & Nicola Bryant | 6th | Peri | November 1998 |
| Wish You Were Here | Guy Clapperton | Colin Baker | ||||
| Vigil | Michael Collier | Nicola Bryant | Peri |
New Series Adventures[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Main article: BBC New Series Adventures#Audiobooks
From 2008-2017, BBC Audio released 31 narrated audio stories featuring then incumbent Doctors, including the Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors. These were part of the New Series Adventures line.
Audio Originals[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Main article: Audio Originals
From 2018, BBC Audio transitioned to releasing stories featuring past Doctors in an Audio Originals series. The series included multiple yearly releases which were usually standalone, but with occasional story arcs across multiple stories.
Beyond the Doctor[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Main article: Beyond the Doctor
| # | Title | Author | Read by | Featuring | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Kairos Ring | Stephen Gallagher | Steven Pacey | Romana II, Tharils | 4 February 2021 |
| 2 | Bessie Come Home | Paul Magrs | Stephanie Cole | Bessie | 5 August 2021 |
| 3 | London, 1965 | Jamie Glover | Ian, Barbara | 6 January 2022 | |
| 4 | Sleeper Agents | Anneke Wills | Ben, Polly | 3 March 2022 | |
| 5 | The Penumbra Affair | Susan Jameson | Wibbsey, Polly, Yates | 5 May 2022 |
