Simon Callow returns to Doctor Who

The next volume of brand-new audio adventures for the Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy), titled Wicked!, goes back to the early days of Ace’s (Sophie Aldred) time in the TARDIS. After meeting the Doctor on Iceworld, Ace joins him on three exciting trips across time and space. 

In the box set’s third story, the Doctor and Ace visit 15th-century Spain and meet another odd pairing of adventurers – Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. The Doctor’s a big fan of these larger-than-life characters from Miguel de Cervantes’ famous novel, and is delighted to discover that, somehow, they are real. 

Voicing the legendary knight errant Don Quixote is the Olivier award-winning Simon Callow, making his return to Doctor Who after first appearing in the TV series as Charles Dickens in 2005’s The Unquiet Dead. His companion Sancho Panza is voiced by Ekow Quartey (Amandaland, Becoming Elizabeth). 

Callow said: “Don Quixote and Sancho Panza are one of the great double acts of our culture, like Laurel and Hardy! Don Quixote is, as always, looking for demons and bad people to slay because he believes he is a knight whose duty is to save people in distress. But it's a great break for him when he encounters the Doctor. They’re absolutely on the same page – they prove to be soulmates, which is very touching.” 

Writer Alan Ronald added: “There’s a sort of Quixote voice that I had in my head while I was writing. And when we were lucky enough to get Simon Callow, suddenly that voice was real – it’s just dream casting. You can’t really get better than that.” 

Doctor Who – The Seventh Doctor Adventures: Wicked! is available to pre-order now for just £19.99 (download to own) or £24.99 (download to own + collector’s edition 3-disc CD box set) exclusively here. Please note: the collector’s edition CD box set is strictly limited to 1,500 copies and will not be re-pressed.   

The three new stories for the Seventh Doctor and Ace are: 

Backwards and in Heels by Alison Winter  

The Doctor has offered young Ace a lift home from Iceworld, promising the scenic route home to Perivale. 

But when they are diverted to 1920s Soho on what appears to be shady business, Ace wonders if she’s making the right choices, let alone in the right order. 

The Price of Snow by Katharine Armitage  

Ski resort Val du Cam Belle is 'the place to be' for the 1% of the near future. But the Doctor and Ace discover sinister shadows beneath the surface of this winter wonderland. 

The sun is too hot, the shade is too dark and nothing is quite what it seems... 

The Ingenious Gentlemen by Alan Ronald 

Fiction and reality collide when a mad man with a box and a mad man with a horse encounter an ancient evil in 15th century Spain. 

But the adventurer-and-companion setup is a little too familiar to Ace, and she begins to question if she is anything more than a Sancho to the Doctor’s Quixote. 

The guest cast of Wicked! also includes Alexandra Barredo, Luke Barton, Paulo Vieira, Sophie Kennedy Clark, and Tom Alexander. 

Wicked! is 2025’s second Seventh Doctor Adventures box set, after June’s Past Forward. Both can be pre-ordered together in a multibuy bundle from just £38 (download to own) or £47 (download to own + collector’s edition CD).  

Alternatively, listeners can buy this release as part of a bundle of all 15 Classic Doctor Who box sets released in 2025 from just £285 (download to own) or £352.50 (download to own + collector’s edition CD). 

All the above prices (including pre-order and multibuy bundle discounts) are fixed for a limited time only and guaranteed no later than 30th November 2025.

Please note that Big Finish is currently operating a digital-first release schedule. The mail-out of collector’s edition CDs may be delayed due to factors beyond our control, but all purchases of this release unlock a digital copy that can be immediately downloaded or played on the Big Finish app from the release date.