Iconic Doctor Who villain returns in "epic" new story – with returning actress back after 10 years
The renegade Time Lady is back in business!
It's officially time to welcome back one of the Doctor's most iconic enemies – as the Rani will return for more adventures as part of Big Finish's Doctor Who audio dramas.
First introduced on screen in 1985, and played by Kate O'Mara, and later portrayed by Anita Dobson and Archie Panjabi in the latest season of the show, the renegade Time Lady has already been at the centre of plenty of adventures in the Whoniverse.
And it seems they're not stopping any time soon, with actress Siobhan Redmond returning to voice the character for the first time in 10 years for the new Big Finish box set The War Doctor Rises: Fear of the Light.
The new stories will see the War Doctor (voiced by Jonathon Carley) forced to make an uneasy alliance with the Rani, while the Daleks (played by returning voice actor Nicholas Briggs) are out to kill them both.
The tales will reveal what happened to the Rani during the Time War and in between her on-screen incarnations "in a story that goes deeper into this morally murky character than ever before".
Writer Rochana Patel said of the story: “It’s been over 10 years since the Rani’s last Big Finish appearance, so a rematch is long overdue…
"Where’s she been? What’s she been doing? As the universe burns, where does the exiled Rani stand in the war between the Time Lords and the Daleks? All these questions will be answered… And, in these dark and terrible days, are the Rani and the War Doctor enemies…? Or something else...?
“For this epic three-part story, I wanted to completely re-examine the Rani as a character, revisit that apathetic scientist that we first encountered in Mark of the Rani, her backstory with the Doctor, and explore what makes her into the woman who re-emerges in Wish World and The Reality War. This is very much the missing piece of the Rani’s story… And, perhaps, the Doctor’s too…”
Fans were stunned when it was finally revealed in season 15 episode The Interstellar Song Contest that the returning Mrs Flood, played by Dobson, turned out to be Rani, with Panjabi arriving as another incarnation when the character bi-generated.
Previously speaking to Radio Times, Panjabi said she wanted to honour the character's original actress, O'Mara.
“I rewatched the episodes and what stood out was this incredible strength and presence,” she said at the time. “She was so unforgettable that I did want the audience to look at the Rani and get a sense of Kate O'Mara’s Rani, just for a split second, while seeing her.”
The War Doctor Rises: Fear of the Light is now available to pre-order for £19.99 (download to own) or £29.99 (download to own and collector’s edition CD), exclusively from BigFinish.com.
Doctor Who will return to BBC One and BBC iPlayer this Christmas.
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Authors
Louise Griffin is the Sci-Fi & Fantasy Editor for Radio Times, covering everything from Doctor Who, Star Wars and Marvel to House of the Dragon and Good Omens. She previously worked at Metro as a Senior Entertainment Reporter and has a degree in English Literature.
