Return of the Robots

The Seventh Doctor returns to audio in July in a brand new mini-season from Big Finish, and he kicks off by meeting up with some familiar impassive faces… the Robots of Death.

“In many ways, Robophobia picks up where The Robots of Death left off in 1977,” says Big Finish executive producer Nicholas Briggs, who has also written the story, “but it goes in an entirely new direction, and I don't just mean out into space.”

The guest cast for Robophobia is led by Nicola Walker, best known for playing Ruth in TV’s Spooks, as Liv Chenka.

“We’ve wanted to work with Nicola for ages,” says producer David Richardson, “and suddenly everything fell into place and she was available for this story. And she was absolutely brilliant, and so lovely and funny. She really embraced the opportunity to appear in the audio adventures of Doctor Who.” The cast also includes Toby Hadoke (Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf) and Dan Starkey (who plays Sontarans in the Doctor Who TV series).

The mini-season takes a short break in August, as Colin Baker returns as the Doctor, accompanied by Nicola Bryant as Peri, for the 150th Big Finish Doctor Who story. Recorded Time comprises four one-part adventures, each written by a different author.

Sylvester’s back for a double outing in September, beginning with The Doomsday Quatrain, by Emma Beeby and 2000 AD mainstay Gordon Rennie.

“The TARDIS lands in 17th century Florence,” reveals script editor Alan Barnes, “where local prophet Nostradamus has to face the fact that the world will end not in some far-off distant future – but right here, right now! And if you listen carefully, you might hear some hints about the Seventh Doctor's Big Finish future too..."

The guest star for this story is David Schofield (Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3), who plays the famed seer.

The season ends with House of Blue Fire, written by Mark Morris (whose previous audio credits include Plague of the Daleks). The guest cast is led by Timothy West, whose earlier Big Finish appearances include Phobos and Cuddlesome.

"It’s exactly the sort of thing you'd expect from an acclaimed horror novelist,” says Barnes. “There’s an isolated house, a bunch of terrified squaddies, a legendary monster... We've tried to make sure there's something nasty for everyone - be they claustrophobes, aquaphobes, even 'blattodeaphobes'...!"

Source - big finish