The Unbound adventures of the First Doctor continue today with the release of Return to Marinus. This is the second in a trilogy of full-cast audio dramas spinning off into their own continuity inspired by the Technicolor style of the Peter Cushing Doctor Who movies. 

The First Doctor Unbound stars the actors who portrayed the original Doctor Who cast in 2013 docudrama An Adventure in Space and Time – David Bradley as the Doctor, Claudia Grant as Susan, Jemma Powell as Barbara, and Jamie Glover as Ian. 

Their latest adventure sees the TARDIS crew land on a planet they’ve been to before, as seen in the 1964 TV serial The Keys of Marinus. But things have changed. As the time travellers explore both familiar and new locations, the stage is set for a rematch with old enemies – not just the Voord, but the Daleks (Nicholas Briggs) too! 

Doctor Who – The First Doctor Unbound: Return to Marinus is now available to purchase for just £13.99 (download to own) or £16.99 (download to own + collector's edition 2-disc CD), exclusively here. Please note: the collector’s edition CD is strictly limited to 1,000 copies and will not be re-pressed. 

The TARDIS has brought the Doctor and his companions back to the planet Marinus, one century after their previous visit. They are greeted as returning heroes, figures of legend. But something is amiss in the city of Millenius. Everybody lives in peace and harmony... whether they like it or not. 

The explanation is obvious. Somebody has reactivated the Conscience Machine and is set on removing free will from Marinus. Somebody – or some old enemies of the Doctor...
 

The guest cast of The First Doctor Unbound: Return to Marinus includes Timothy Blore, Sophie Matthew, Sulin Hasso, Adam Howden, Mathew McQuinn, Derek Elroy, Joseph Millson, Ewan Goddard, and Robert Gill. 

Writer Jonathan Morris said: “I approached this story with great eagerness and delight because I’ve always wanted to write a full-cast First Doctor story. To write for David Bradley is another delight and then to write a story set on Marinus is a dream come true. Literally! I’ve had that dream – that’s the sort of thing I dream about! 

“The brief was: ‘We want to produce three audio movies akin to the 1960s Who films starring Peter Cushing. Bright popcorn tales of adventure and sweeping stories.’ I rationalised it as being, ‘What if Milton Subotsky did a movie version of The Keys of Marinus and it did really well, so he decided to get Terry Nation to write a sequel?’ Or ‘What if they had managed to sell Doctor Who to America so it got a film series budget in its second year?’ 

“It’s not Unbound in the sense of doing a ‘What-if’ in terms of continuity. I mean, you can treat it as a ‘What if Jonny Morris was sent 60 years back in time and given the keys to the Big Finish office?’ exercise if you like! But I wrote it to fit in with continuity – not just TV, but stuff from the annuals, comic strips, the sweet cigarette cards, and other audios where possible. It is a sequel to a TV episode so naturally it has to follow the continuity of that.” 

Praise for the previous First Doctor Unbound story, Knights of the Round TARDIS: 

“It’s safe to say a lot of effort is being put into the quality of this range.”
Who Review 

“Knights could easily slot into that first treasured run of escapades.”
Doctor Who Magazine 

Big Finish listeners can save money by pre-ordering Return to Marinus in a multi-buy bundle with the third The First Doctor Unbound volume, which is due to be released in May 2027, for just £26 (download to own) or £32 (download to own + collector’s edition CD). 

All the above prices (including pre-order and multibuy bundle discounts) are fixed for a limited time only and guaranteed no later than 31 March 2026. 

Big Finish is currently operating a digital-first release schedule. The mailout of collector’s edition CDs will be delayed, but all purchases of this release unlock a digital copy that can be immediately downloaded or played on the Big Finish app from the release date.