Recorded on: 8 September 2025
Recorded at: The Soundhouse
The 2025 judging panel were Big Finish’s creative director Nicholas Briggs, voice actor and reader of the winning story Clare Corbett, producer of the Doctor Who: Short Trips range Peter Anghelides, producer of The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures range Noga Flaishon, and Big Finish producer Dominic Martin.
Clare Corbett said: "A brilliantly paced original piece of writing with a beautifully drawn main character. My imagination immediately lit up wanting to see more of this 'lost Wednesday'!"
"Judging for the Paul Spragg competition was an honour," added Noga Flaishon. "The stories we read were so full of heart, and I could have imagined the Thirteenth Doctor's voice for so many of them. It was hard to choose. As someone who grew up reading and writing Doctor Who fan fiction, this was a rare pleasure to read so many cool stories."
Dominic Martin said: "The Wednesday That Wasn't is such a lovely tale that channels of all the energy of a Douglas Adams or a Terry Pratchett story while keeping it firmly within the context of Who. It's really quite ethereal, and it's such a worthy winner in a competition with so many entries dripping with talent and passion. Beautiful!"
And Peter Anghelides said: "Luke's proposal grabbed my attention immediately, and he has written a witty and exciting script that captures the Thirteenth Doctor's character wonderfully."
Q&A with Luke Hollands about his winning entry
What was it like finding out that you had won?
"I couldn’t quite believe it. I was working at home when the email came through and I had to walk around the house about ten times. I sat down, stood up, sat down again, stood up again, made a cup of tea, and it took me at least two or three hours to pluck up the courage to reply. It was by far one of the best emails I’ve ever had."
What was the inspiration for your story?
"The spark of the idea came back in January. It was a bitter cold day. I was cycling to the shops to pick up a pint of milk, and my wedding ring slipped off my finger and was lost completely. I searched everywhere, I put up posters, absolutely no luck. It started me wondering, where do these missing things go? These everyday mysteries that we never seem to be able to solve.
"And so when this year's competition was announced, I had this whole idea in my head of things being lost and found, and I wrote lists of things that could be lost. Eventually it dawned on me that a lost day could be perfect if it was removed from time. What would happen and how would the Doctor try to get it back?"
What do you like about the Thirteenth Doctor?
"To me, there’s only one word to describe the Thirteenth Doctor - brilliant. She’s just utterly brilliant. It's a joy to write for her because the character is so strong and distinctive that you always know exactly how she’s going to react in a situation. There's no filter, no hesitation. She’s this burst of instinctive energy. And I think that makes her really authentic and fun and it fitted this story."
How long have you been a Doctor Who fan?
"My first experience of Who was probably in October 1988 around my fifth birthday. I'd gone to bed early, and remember laying there in bed and hearing these terrifying voices coming from downstairs, so I got up, sneaked to the banister, peered through, and watched about five minutes of Remembrance of the Daleks.
"That was it, I was completely hooked, only for the show to disappear a year later. But I managed to convince my parents to raid the local library for every VHS and Target book they had, and a lifelong love was born."
What’s your advice to anyone thinking of entering next year’s competition?
"I've entered ten times now, but the first few times I entered, I wrote stories involving characters like the Brigadier or the Master or K9, which were not allowed by Big Finish, and I only realised after about four times of entering, that I should have properly read the rules.
"But most importantly, it's never give up. This was the tenth time I'd entered the competition and I very nearly didn't. It's remarkable that every year, Paul Spragg, a wonderful man I never met, inspired me to try again, and has given me hope in my writing ability. Hope is a wonderful legacy to leave and possibly the most Doctorish of qualities."
Luke Hollands - winning-writer (photo by Luke Hollands)
Clare Corbett (photo courtesy Clare Corbett)
Noga Flaishon (photo courtesy Noga Flaishon)
Dominic Martin (photo courtesy Dominic Martin)
Peter Anghelides (photo by Anne Summerfield)
