The Unbound First Doctor vs the Monk! 

The First Doctor Unbound is a brand-new trilogy of feature-length audio dramas, in which the First Doctor and his companions are played by the actors originally seen in 2013 biopic An Adventure in Space and Time. The series begins in September with Knights of the Round TARDIS. 

In the first two-hour full-cast adventure, the Doctor (David Bradley, who also played the role in TV episodes Twice Upon a Time and The Power of the Doctor) visits thirteenth-century Oxford with his granddaughter Susan (Claudia Grant) and schoolteachers Ian (Jamie Glover) and Barbara (Jemma Powell). 

Here they meet Simon de Montfort (Joseph Millson), the famed nobleman whose opposition to King Henry III laid the foundation for parliamentary democracy. But there’s someone else in Oxford who wants to derail this progress – a friar who calls himself Roger Bacon (Keith Wickham). 

The Doctor, his companions, and their new allies must work together to stop this mysterious Monk from meddling in time… but is it already too late? Is history already diverging in a new direction? 

Doctor Who – The First Doctor Unbound: Knights of the Round TARDIS is now available to pre-order for just £12.99 (download to own) or £15.99 (download to own + collector's edition 2-disc CD), exclusively here. Please note: the collector’s edition CD is strictly limited to 1,000 copies and will not be repressed. 

Thirteenth Century Oxford – courtly love, jousting knights and a golden age of Academia. What a treat for the Doctor and his companions! A chance to meet precursor of English democracy Simon de Montfort, as well as scientist, visionary and Franciscan friar Roger Bacon – a man truly ahead of his time. 

Truly ahead of his time. If the TARDIS team can’t stop him, this time-meddling wolf in Monk’s clothing will alter the course of Earth’s history. 

Writer LR Hay said: “When I was offered a First Doctor escapade in the style of a 1960s movie – wow! – my mind swirled with heists, spies, ancient epics, jousting knights and cheeky romps.   

“That prompted a memory – chatting with a friend once about people from history we wish Doctor Who had covered. He mentioned medieval scholar and alchemist Roger Bacon. The stout, robed figure of Friar Bacon collided delightfully into Carry On star Peter Butterworth’s time-meddling trickster, the Monk, who I absolutely love. 

“And who doesn’t want to see Ian, Barbara and Susan as literal knights in shining armour, riding out to protect the future as we know it?” 

Knights of the Round TARDIS is the first in a trilogy of adventures starring this version of Doctor Who’s original line-up. Set apart from established continuity, these stories take inspiration from the Technicolor tone of the 1960s Doctor Who movies starring Peter Cushing. 

The second and third volumes of The First Doctor Unbound are due to be released in March 2026 and May 2027, respectively, and are now available to pre-order for £13.99 (download to own) or £16.99 (download to own + collector’s edition 2-disc CD), exclusively from www.bigfinish.com. 

Big Finish listeners can save money by pre-ordering volumes two and three together in a bundle for just £26 (download to own) or £32 (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 30 November 2025. 

Big Finish is currently operating a digital-first release schedule. The mailout of collector’s edition CDs will be delayed, 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.