Doctor Who story that went unmade after show's cancellation will finally see light of day
"It feels as if something begun in the tender days of my early work has at last been fulfilled."
More than three decades on, a previously unmade Doctor Who story is set to get its time in the sun thanks to a newly announced adaptation.
Alixion was a Doctor Who story written by Robin Mukherjee, who went on to write for The Bill, Casualty and EastEnders among others, that was initially greenlit for production in 1989.
Unfortunately, the show's subsequent cancellation the same year meant that the story remained untold for decades, but thanks to Doctor Who – The Lost Stories, Mukherjee's story is finally set for release.
Doctor Who – The Lost Stories: Alixion is a full-cast audio drama from Big Finish which is based on the original Alixion story, and features the returns of Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor and Sophie Aldred as his popular companion Ace.
Here's how the official plot synopsis of Alixion is described: "Checking into a luxury health spa for a little rest and recreation, the Doctor and Ace find themselves at the mercy of a malign entity that craves the conquest of time and space.
"Exploiting their memories and regrets, the queen of the hive, which hides behind the polished walls of the spa, forces them to confront their deepest fears as she steals the Doctor's life force to spread her powers across the universe."
As well as McCoy and Aldred, the cast includes the likes of This England star Shri Patel and I May Destroy You's Beverly Longhurst.
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Recalling how the tale came to be, Mukherjee said: "I can vividly remember those cramed rooms in a drab office block on Shepherds Bush Green which became an oasis of creativity, seething with ideas in the company of John [Nathan-Turner], Andrew [Cartmel], Ben [Aaronovitch], Ian [Briggs], Graeme [Curry], Rona [Munro] and others. I felt in awe of these writers and their imagination. We danced through space and time spinning strange and wonderful tales for – in my view – one of the show's greatest ever Doctor/partner pairings.
"The cancellation of the next series put an end to my commission. But the story has always hovered in the corners of my imagination."
He went on to add: "What surprised me most about writing this was how much story, from all those conversations, was simply waiting to be told. It feels as if something begun in the tender days of my early work has at last been fulfilled."
Doctor Who – The Lost Stories: Alixion is now available to pre-order exclusively from the Big Finish website.
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