The First Doctor Adventures is a Big Finish Productions audio play series based on the British television programme Doctor Who. It sees David Bradley and Stephen Noonan as the First Doctor, a role originated by William Hartnell from 1963 to 1966, as well as by Bradley on television in the episodes "The Doctor Falls", "Twice Upon a Time", and "The Power of the Doctor".
History
Beginning in 2017, it was announced that actor David Bradley would portray the First Doctor, a role originated by William Hartnell from 1963 to 1966, as well as by Bradley on television in the episodes "The Doctor Falls" and "Twice Upon a Time". David Bradley also portrayed William Hartnell in the BBC bio-drama An Adventure in Space and Time.
Also appearing are Claudia Grant as Susan Foreman, Jemma Powell as Barbara Wright and Jamie Glover as Ian Chesterton. These three actors also appeared alongside Bradley in the aforementioned BBC bio-drama. James Dreyfus joins the cast as an earlier incarnation of The Master prior to Roger Delgado.
Announced in September 2017, the first pair of stories was released on 25 December 2017, with a second pair released in July 2018. Confirmed in July 2018, a third duo was released in January 2019. The fourth and fifth volumes were announced in 2019 and 2021 respectively.
In May 2020, Big Finish announced that the Main Range would conclude with in March 2021, to be replaced with regular releases of each Doctor in their own boxsets throughout the year in 2022. A single boxset for the First Doctor was announced in May 2021, set for release in April 2022. Executive Producer, Nicholas Briggs in response to a fan letter stated in the February 2022 issue of Vortex Magazine, "the new First Doctor range will feature an actor new to the role of the Doctor and he is, I assure you, amazing!". On 11 February 2022, Big Finish announced that Stephen Noonan will be portraying the First Doctor alongside Lauren Cornelius.
Cast
Actor Character Appearances V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 David Bradley The Doctor colspan="5" colspan="5" Stephen Noonan colspan="5" colspan="5" Claudia Grant Susan Foreman colspan="5" colspan="5" Carole Ann Ford colspan="2" colspan="7" Jemma Powell Barbara Wright colspan="5" colspan="5" Jamie Glover Ian Chesterton colspan="5" colspan="5" James Dreyfus The Master colspan="9" Lauren Cornellius Dodo Chaplet colspan="5" colspan="5" Maureen O'Brien Vicki colspan="7" colspan="2" Peter Purves Steven Taylor colspan="8" Anneke Wills Polly Wright colspan="9" Rufus Hound The Monk colspan="5" colspan="1" colspan="4" Nicholas Briggs The Daleks colspan="3" colspan="3" colspan="2"
Episodes Individual episodes have titles, reflecting the practice of the programme in the 1960s when William Hartnell played the First Doctor.
Adventures starring David Bradley (2017–2021) These stories are set somewhere after the Season 1 story The Reign of Terror and before the Season 2 story Planet of Giants.
Volume 1 (2017)
Volume 2 (2018)
Volume 3 (2019)
Volume 4 (2020)
Volume 5 (2021)
Continuation
In April 2022, Executive Producer Nicholas Briggs expressed interest in producing further stories with Bradley. In Issue 167 of Big Finish's magazine Vortex, Briggs teased further stories featuring Bradley's portrayal, saying "We've some very exciting plans afoot for further stories with David Bradley — something quite out of the ordinary and rather delightful. On 17 April 2024, it was announced Bradley would continue to play a new alternate version of the First Doctor alongside Powell, Glover and Grant as alternate versions of their respective characters but now as part of the Unbound range instead, in a series titled The First Doctor Unbound.
Adventures starring Stephen Noonan (2022–present) These stories are set between the Season 3 stories The Savages and The War Machines. Series 1: The Outlaws (2022)
Series 2: The Demon Song (2023)
Series 3: Fugitive of the Daleks (2024)
Series 4: The Living Darkness (2025) On 23 May 2024, Big Finish announced their slate of boxsets for 2025. Nicholas Briggs said: “All our writers, directors, script editors and producers continue to work tirelessly to create exciting new adventures for all our Doctors. The First Doctor continues his strange encounters with past companions, with an absolute corker by Jacqueline Rayner, already recorded and in post-production." The release is set for January 2025.
Series 5: Beware the City of Illusions (2026)
Awards and nominations +Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee(s) of the award, and the result of the nomination Award ceremony Year Category Work(s) Result Scribe Awards 2019 Best Audio The Invention of Death
References