Recorded on: 31 March, 4-6 and 27 April and 30 June 2023
Recorded at: The Soundhouse
Producer David O’Mahony said: “The Peter Cushing feature films of the 1960s were our stylistic inspiration - the lighter tone, the spirit of high adventure, the true Technicolor nature of the storytelling. We want all these adventures to have that bank holiday or Sunday afternoon feeling.
“We combined this with the brilliant cast of the BBC's anniversary special An Adventure in Space and Time, led by the legendary David Bradley. Working with such a wonderful cast and an exceptional creative team, we have created a time fracture leading to a separate universe... it might not be canon (or is it?), but it's going to be brilliant!
“I cannot tell you how excited I am to be taking charge of The First Doctor Unbound. Similarly to the Lost Stories range, making these stories unbound to the television continuity of Doctor Who gives us a wonderful creative freedom to explore characters, stories and styles.
“The hunger to create new stories and be inspired by various parts of the Whoniverse has driven so many wonderful Big Finish productions - to bring in this Doctor and set him on these adventures is like unearthing a treasure trove of potential and exciting tales.”
Writer L R Hay said: “When I was offered a First Doctor escapade in the style of a 1960s movie – wow! – my mind swirled with heists, spies, ancient epics, jousting knights and cheeky romps.
“That prompted a memory - chatting with a friend once about people from history we wish Doctor Who had covered. He mentioned medieval scholar and alchemist Roger Bacon. The stout, robed figure of Friar Bacon collided delightfully into Carry On star Peter Butterworth’s time-meddling trickster, the Monk, who I absolutely love.
“And who doesn’t want to see Ian, Barbara and Susan as literal knights in shining armour, riding out to protect the future as we know it?”
David Bradley said: "It can be a challenge having to paint a picture with your voice, but not if you’ve got a story that's as vivid as these on this series and so well written. In fact, when I first started doing these, I thought, where did they dig these old scripts from? Because they were so much of their time, and I didn't realise they’d been specially written in the style of that time!"
Jamie Glover, who plays Ian, added: "Unbelievably it is over ten years since we all did An Adventure in Space and Time, which was a great job, recreating such a key moment of British television history. It's lovely to come back, to get the gang back together. And luckily on these stories, it's extremely good writing – we are plunged straight into the world, and the characters we meet are very vivid."
Jemma Powell, who voices Barbara, said: "I love these historical ones because it's like having a history lesson weaved in with the Doctor Who story. When she's experiencing the historical moments, Barbara's quite know-it-all, but it's always quite fun to explore the slightly scared side of her too!"
David Bradley (The Doctor)
Ewan Goddard, Matthew McQuinn, Jamie Glover, Keith Wickham, Sophie Matthew, Sulin Hasso, David Bradley
