Doctor Who may be on a hiatus on screen, as fans wait for the BBC to put the show out to tender, but stories from the show are continuing on apace in audio form.
Now, the latest Big Finish release has been confirmed, with Sir Derek Jacobi returning as his version of the Master, the War Master, for a full cast box set of four new adventures, due to be released in October.
The new box set, titled Deeds Without Name, will be the twelfth for the War Master, with the first having been released in 2017. Jacobi first played the character in the Doctor Who season 3 episode Utopia, back in 2007.
The synopsis for the new box set says: “Following the events of 2025’s box set His Greatest Trick, the Master is still a fugitive from the war, with Time Lords and Daleks alike out to kill him. But when has that ever stopped him from seeking out more trouble?
“In Deeds Without Name, the Master menaces the minds of wealthy retirees, before he dies and is – as always – resurrected. Then, he takes on the energy companies on a distant planet and returns to Earth to publish his tell-all memoir. All in a day’s work.”
The series is available to pre-order now for £24.99 (download to own) or £30.99 (download to own and collector’s edition 4-disc CD box set).
The War Master: Deeds Without Name. Big Finish
The first of the four new adventures is titled The Unstately Home, and has been written by Alison Winter.
The synopsis says: “The super-rich elite residents of Aurora Mansions, a high-tech luxury retirement village and nursing home, have every imaginable comfort and amenity in their golden years. But the Master, posing as a cognitive hypnotherapist, is keen to demonstrate that no amount of money can provide sanctuary from the troubled mind… especially when he’s inside it.”
The second will be titled Dead Man’s Pulse and has been written by Mark Bowsher, with the synopsis revealing: “The Master is dead. For now, at least. But even a dead Time Lord is valuable during a Time War and when a gang of scavengers steal the Master’s body, their ship is targeted by a psychological energy weapon.
“They are forced to revive the Master to gain his help, but his cooperation comes at a high price…”
The third story, The Devil in the Detail, has been written by David K Barnes, with the synopsis teasing: “On a colony world in perpetual night, young scientist Lyle Godwin is determined to give power back to the people. He’s beating the energy companies at their own game – but why does the Master want to help him do it? The devil… is in the detail.”
The fourth and final story has been written by Matthew Sweet, and will be titled In His Anecdotage.
The synopsis says: “The Master is publishing his memoirs – You Don’t Know Jackanapes – in which he offers himself as a reformed character and spills secrets from the UNIT years.
“Talking to veteran investigative journalist Jeannie Keen, she questions him about government cover-ups, and he tells her, out of the blue, that he has seen a UNIT file showing she has a twin sister living in a nursing home in Wexcliffe-on-Sea. Only it’s not a nursing home, it’s a UNIT safe house.
“The Master offers to team up with Jeannie, apparently interested in helping her with the story. But what is the secret of Ashburton Lodge? And what’s behind the Master’s most unreliable of memoirs?”
Alongside Jacobi, the guest cast for the box set includes Kathryn Drysdale (Bridgerton), Carolyn Seymour (Survivors), Sarah Hadland (Daddy Issues), Josh Finan (Waiting for the Out), Ben Whitehead (Wallace & Gromit), Chizzy Akudolu (Grace) and Will Keen (Star City), along with further names to be announced.
Producer Robert Valentine said in a statement: “Deeds Without Name presents four disturbing tales of the Master’s warped exploits – dark deeds and weird sins that will make you shudder, scream… and maybe even laugh. But if you do find any of these stories in the least bit funny… well, that would be very wicked of you indeed.”
Doctor Who is available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Dive into our Doctor Who story guide: reviews of every episode since 1963, plus cast & crew listings, production trivia, and exclusive material from the Radio Times archive.
Add Doctor Who to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.
Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.