Despite saying farewell in the season 14 finale, the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby Sunday will reunite for two new Doctor Who audio adventures. The current TARDIS team came together in the 2023 seasonal special “The Church on Ruby Road.” While season 14 saw life tear the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby (Millie Gibson) away from one another, the pair are confirmed to reunite in next year’s Doctor Who season 15, alongside the debut of a new companion played by Varada Sethu.
In the meantime, DoctorWho.tv has revealed two new adventures starring Ruby and the Doctor will be explored in a pair of audio adventures. Published by Penguin Random House and releasing on November 7, On Ghost Beach by Niel Bushnell will see the duo investigate a haunted seaside town in 1958, while Sting of the Sasquatch by Darren Jones brings the pair into the path of the cryptid. The tales will be read by Susan Twist and Genesis Lynea, and the synopses can be read below:
Doctor Who: On Ghost Beach by Niel Bushnell – Read by Susan Twist
The TARDIS arrives in County Durham, England, in 1958. Seaham Chemical Beach was once a scene of heavy industry, long since abandoned, but now local residents are having nightmares and seeing apparitions.
It isn’t long before the Doctor and Ruby are affected by the beach’s peculiar atmosphere. As they begin to forget exactly who they are, Ruby hears a distant voice calling her on.
Whose memories are filling the travellers’ heads, and what is the significance of Ghost Beach, in the Sea of Despair, on the planet Farfrom? Even more importantly – who is Reg?
Doctor Who: Sting of the Sasquatch by Darren Jones – Read by Genesis Lynea
In a National Park in North-West America, the Doctor and Ruby are pursued by large, ape-like creatures who seem to literally disappear into the trees. When Ruby falls ill after apparently being stung, the Doctor believes the infection is extra-terrestrial in origin.
They meet Dixie and Greg, two Bigfoot hunters determined to track down the mythical Sasquatch. Standing in their way is Ranger Peone, who’s adamant that the forest is too dangerous to explore. Dozens of people have vanished, or reappeared with no memory, in the last month alone.
Then the ape creatures kidnap Ruby, and the Doctor is determined to both save her life and solve the mystery of the Sasquatch.
What To Expect From The Fifteenth Doctor’s Audio Debut
Don’t Expect Adventures On The Scale Of Big Finish’s Doctor Who Productions
Audio dramas are nothing new for Doctor Who. The series’ past incarnations of the Doctor have been explored through the medium via Big Finish’s range of audio dramas. Founded in 1996, Dalek voice actor Nicolas Briggs has acted as an executive producer on new adventures fleshing out the travels of the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Doctors, with its roster of characters only growing with time. However, the company is limited in what characters they can use by their BBC agreements.
While these agreements have since expanded to allow the company to cast actors from Doctor Who’s revival era, thus allowing characters currently appearing on the show to also be the subject of their own audio dramas, there are still limitations in place. By releasing these stories through Penguin Random House as audiobooks, the BBC can circumvent these restrictions. Though Gatwa and Gibson may not be lending their voices, the two new adventures are a welcome expansion to their travels.
One common complaint in season 14 was the Doctor and Ruby’s lack of adventures together compared to previous Doctor Who team-ups. Gatwa’s Sex Education filming schedule and a shortened episode count led to the pair’s relationship not leaving a firm impression on viewers by the time of Doctor Who season 14’s ending. As such, two new Doctor Who audio adventures featuring the team will add further weight to their travels ahead of Gatwa’s 2024 seasonal special return.