The Fourth Doctor meets Genghis Khan!

After dealing with contemporary intrigue in The Ministry of Death and venturing far into the future in Lethal Progress, it’s time for the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) and Sarah Jane Smith (Sadie Miller) to head back into history. 

This year’s third and final release in the audio drama series The Fourth Doctor Adventures, titled A New Occupation, comprises two full-cast adventures exploring dangerous corners of Earth’s past. 

First, the Doctor and Sarah arrive in a thirteenth-century city plagued by battle, as a rebel army tries to bring down Genghis Khan (Paul Courtenay Hyu). The time traveller’s arrival only exacerbates the trouble, and it’s up to Genghis’s daughter Alakhai Bekhi (Susan Hingley) to calm the storm. 

Then, reunited with their old friend Harry Sullivan (Christopher Naylor), the Doctor and Sarah are caught up in the Nazi occupation of Jersey, led by General Herz (Andor star Wilf Scolding). Time travel is a dangerous game, and if the Doctor’s not careful, history itself may be at stake… 

Doctor Who – The Fourth Doctor Adventures: A New Occupation is now available to pre-order for just £19.99 (download to own) or £24.99 (download to own + collector’s edition 3-disc CD box set) exclusively here. Please note: the collector’s edition CD box set is strictly limited to 1,500 copies and will not be re-pressed. 

The Fourth Doctor’s two historical trips are: 

Daughter of Destruction by Katharine Armitage (two parts) 

The TARDIS lands in the city of Ongud during a rebellion. The world is suffering the wrath of Genghis Khan and the Doctor and Sarah are right in the middle of it.  

It’s a dangerous time but one woman is about to stand up to the despot for the first time. His anger is about to be halted. 

Unless someone has made a very small mistake...

A New Occupation by Helen Goldwyn (four parts)

Temporal disruption on Jersey leads to a new kind of time travel for the Doctor, Sarah and Harry and they soon find themselves on the island during its occupation by the Nazis. 

Can they return to the future without a TARDIS? And without the German forces changing history irrevocably? 

The first story’s writer, Katharine Armitage, said: “It is so unbelievably exciting to write for the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane. They are the iconic pairing. Sarah Jane is so curious, always ready to rock the boat, one of the first ones to really match up to the Doctor and to say, excuse me, I’m not just going to follow you around. She and the Fourth Doctor have this amazing connection and banter.  

“When I was asked to write a pure historical, I was really excited, because one of my passions is looking at history and finding the bits we haven’t heard about. That’s the case with Alakhai Bekhi – a lot of Genghis Khan’s daughters were incredible women, but they were actually removed from the record. I hope that this story makes people really question that view of history that we have.” 

And Helen Goldwyn, the writer of A New Occupation and director of both stories, said: “We’ve got the wonderful Big Finish stalwarts of Christopher Naylor and Sadie Miller returning as Harry and Sarah Jane. They’re always a delight to work with and never need direction because they just are those characters. And of course, Tom playing the Doctor. What a joy to hear an actor like that, an absolute icon, saying lines that I’ve written and enjoying them – a real feather in my cap! 

“I did have a very clear idea early on about wanting to set it on Jersey and wanting this connection between Jersey during wartime and during the Harry and Sarah Jane era. I did loads of research about Jersey during wartime. They really were on the brink of starvation before the Allies liberated them.” 

All three of 2026’s Fourth Doctor Adventures box sets (including March’s The Ministry of Death and June’s Lethal Progress) can be pre-ordered together in a multibuy bundle for just £57 (download to own).  

Alternatively, listeners can buy this release as part of a bundle of all 15 Classic Doctor Who box sets released in 2026 for £285 (download to own). 

Please note that Big Finish is currently operating a digital-first release schedule. The mail-out of collector’s edition CDs may be delayed due to factors beyond our control, 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.