In the next volume of his full-cast audio adventures, the War Doctor (Jonathon Carley) must make an uneasy alliance with an old enemy – the Rani (Siobhán Redmond)! 

This renegade Time Lady, a brilliant but cruel scientist, first appeared in classic Doctor Who TV serials The Mark of the Rani and Time and the Rani, in which she was played by Kate O’Mara. She made a return appearance as the main villain of the 2025 TV series, portrayed in two incarnations by Anita Dobson and Archie Panjabi. 

But what happened to the Rani between those encounters? Siobhán Redmond returns to play the character on audio for the first time in ten years (following 2014’s The Rani Elite and 2015’s Planet of the Rani), in a story that goes deeper into this morally murky character than ever before, and reveals for the first time just what she was up to during the Time War. 

The Doctor and the Rani may have been staunch enemies in the past, but with the Daleks (Nicholas Briggs) out to kill them both, they’ll have to work together! Unless she has other tricks up her sleeve, of course… 

The War Doctor Rises: Fear of the Light, written by Rochana Patel, is now available to pre-order for just £19.99 (download to own) or £29.99 (download to own + three-disc collector’s edition CD), exclusively here. Please note: the collector’s edition CD box set is strictly limited to 1,000 copies and will not be re-pressed. 

Fleeing from the Daleks, the Doctor sends a distress call, in desperate need of rescue. 

It’s answered by one of his oldest friends, and deadliest foes… the Rani. 

In the midst of the Time War, the Doctor must now consider the unthinkable. Can he set their differences aside and work with the Rani – to change the future of the universe? 

Producer David Richardson said: “The Rani is back at last… and it’s about time. Rochana has written a stunning script which reunites two of Gallifrey’s most renowned runaways, and they are front and centre in almost every scene of a story that explores the history and dynamic of their relationship.” 

Writer Rochana Patel added: “It’s been over ten years since the Rani’s last Big Finish appearance, so a rematch is long overdue… Where’s she been? What’s she been doing? As the universe burns, where does the exiled Rani stand in the war between the Time Lords and the Daleks? All these questions will be answered… And, in these dark and terrible days, are the Rani and the War Doctor enemies…?  Or something else...? 

“For this epic three-part story, I wanted to completely re-examine the Rani as a character, revisit that apathetic scientist that we first encountered in The Mark of the Rani, her backstory with the Doctor, and explore what makes her into the woman who re-emerges in Wish World and The Reality War. This is very much the missing piece of the Rani’s story… And, perhaps, the Doctor’s too…” 

The War Doctor Rises: Fear of the Light is now available to pre-order for just £19.99 (download to own) or £29.99 (download to own + collector’s edition CD), exclusively from www.bigfinish.com. 

Big Finish listeners can save money by purchasing Fear of the Light in a bundle with 2026’s second War Doctor Rises box set (Title TBC), due for release in December 2026, for just £38 (download to own) or £56 (download to own + collector’s edition CD box set).

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