Christopher Eccleston & Billie Piper Reunite for New 'Doctor Who' Audio Adventure
Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper reuniting for Big Finish's "Doctor Who" audio stories
(Photo: Big Finish)
Sometimes impossible things just happen and we call them miracles: Two decades after Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper starred in the first season of Doctor Who's modern era, former Ninth Doctor and his companion Rose Tyler will officially reunite for a new set of audio adventures with Big Finish. Many Whovians are likely already familiar with the company's expansive range of Doctor Who audio stories, which have seen such fan favorites from both the classic (Tom Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Colin Baker) and modern (David Tennant, Catherine Tate, Michelle Gomez) reprise their roles in stories that slot in around the show's existing canon.
Eccleston's exit from Doctor Who after just a single season was fairly controversial, and as the years have passed more information has come out about the difficulties the actor faced both on set and in his personal life. He stayed away from the franchise ever since, only agreeing to return to do Big Finish stories in 2021. He's since done three series worth of solo adventures, including a story in which Nine meets Alex Kingston's River Song.
“I am so happy to be back recording more adventures for the Ninth Doctor with Billie," Eccleston said in a statement. "I don’t think my Doctor exists without Rose. He’s a ‘one man, one companion’ kind of alien. We’ve explored him on his own at Big Finish, as a loner. But there’s a resilience and a bravery and a deep empathy to Billie as Rose, that’s why I do this. They complete each other.”
Piper, for her part, has reteamed with Tennant for a series of Tenth Doctor adventures and starred in her own solo series called Rose Tyler: The Dimension Cannon.
“I can’t think of a better time for Rose to reunite with her first Doctor than now," Piper said. "Twenty years after she first ran into the TARDIS and towards adventure, here we are again, me and Chris, ready to have fun facing the universe – and the monsters – together.”
Per the official press release, the twelve-hour-long adventures will "slot neatly" into the pair's original 2005 series, and will contain more of Rose's mom Jackie Tyler — actress Camille Coduri is already a Big Finish regular — more Powell Estate, and more friends old and new across all of time and space.
"Twenty years after the Ninth Doctor and Rose burst onto our screens, Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper are back with that brilliant dynamic – the Doctor showing Rose the universe, and Rose showing him the best of humanity," producer Matt Finton said. "Our writers have done an amazing job recapturing the spirit of that very special season, and Chris and Billie have embraced these scripts with delight and gusto. They’re having a blast, back on that trip of a lifetime – and they sound fantastic!”
There's no firm release date for this series of audio stories, as yet, but they're slated to arrive at some point in August 2025.
