The New Series: The Churchill Years

In this four-hour saga, Winston relates a number of encounters with the Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Doctors in his memoirs, battling alien incursions, metamorphosing creatures...and a Dalek! 1.THE ONCOMING STORM by Phil Mulryne. Late 1939. Britain faces the might of Germany. Winston Churchill serves as First Lord of the Admiralty. But Churchill soon finds himself facing a more immediate threat than the looming Nazi menace. A 'Stone' with the most mysterious properties is discovered in the Thames' sands, and soon oddly spoken soldiers are creeping round London ruthlessly trying to acquire it. Who are they? Can Churchill and his new secretary Hetty Warner defeat them? And what about the man in the battered leather jacket that Hetty meets? Churchill feels sure they can rely on the Doctor to help them! Except that this Doctor seems to want to stay hidden in the shadows...2. HOUNDED by Alan Barnes. In the dark days of 1941, Britain is in the midst of war. Churchill must stand strong against the might of the enemy - but he is plagued by a darkness in his own psyche. Something he calls 'the Black Dog'. Can a visiting Swami hold the answer to his troubles? And can Hetty Warner prevent the Prime Minister's adversaries from taking advantage of the situation? Across London, the Tenth Doctor's arrival may be the nation's only hope - but the Time Lord's plan to help his friend is endangered when he finds himself declared a traitor by the agents of the country he has come to protect...3. LIVING HISTORY by Justin Richards. Finally given the chance to travel in the TARDIS, Winston Churchill cannot resist the opportunity of meeting Julius Caesar. But the trip does not go quite as planned. With the TARDIS gone, and Churchill stranded in ancient Britain with a young man he barely knows and who comes from the future, it seems things can hardly get any worse. Until he is captured by the invading Romans. Still, at least that means Churchill will meet Julius Caesar after all. But then Churchill learns of the Bronze God, feared and worshipped by the Ancient Britons. A god that he recognises as anything but divine when he meets it. 4. THE CHARTWELL METAMORPHOSIS by Ken Bentley. Comfortably retired to his home at Chartwell, Churchill plans to live out his days in peace, in the company of his butterflies - if his attendants would just leave him alone. But it isn't simply Lepidoptera breeding in the gardens, as a far more sinister species is about to emerge from its cocoon - and is ready to feast on something more than just the shrubberies. Surrounded on all sides, the former Prime Minister must put a life's worth of experience into action in order to win the day. Can his new nurse Lily Arwell offer her assistance? Winston Churchill first encountered the Doctor on TV in Victory of the Daleks, the two men clearly old friends who had shared past adventures - now Big Finish get to show those moments! Ian McNeice reprises his Churchill role from TV's Doctor Who, but he's also very familiar from roles in such shows as Doc Martin, Children of Dune, and Stay Lucky. Danny Horn and Holly Earl return to previous Doctor Who roles, that of Kazran Sardick and Lily Arwell from two highly rated Doctor Who Christmas specials. CAST: Ian McNeice (Winston Churchill), Danny Horn (Kazran Sardick), Holly Earl (Lily Arwell), Emily Atack (Hetty Warner), Michael Gould (Frederick Lindemann), Derek Riddell (Lt-Commander Sandy McNish), Phil Mulryne (Able Seaman Phillips), Jo Stone-Fewings (Major Wheatley), Amerjit Deu (The Swami), Stewart Scudamore (Danvers), Alistair Petrie (Julius Caesar), Laura Rogers (Queen Tristahna), John Banks (Mr Rogers) and Nicholas Briggs (The Dalek).