Seven years after her shocking departure, Sheridan Smith returns to the Big Finish fold for more stories as Lucie Miller.
Big Finish has announced today that Sheridan Smith and Paul McGann will be reunited on audio for ‘The Further Adventures of Lucie Miller‘. Smith reprises her title role opposite McGann’s Eighth Doctor. Slated for release in July 2019 to mark the 20th anniversary of Doctor Who on Big Finish, the set will comprise four new stories.
Briggs Brings Back
“We’ve always had it in mind to bring back Lucie,” said Nicholas Briggs, Big Finish executive producer. “And we only let her go in the first place because we could see Sheridan’s stratospheric career path approaching But thanks to Big Finish producer Ian Atkins getting her back to record two Short Trips single-voice releases as Lucie, we discovered that Sheridan was really keen to return. And so, script editor Alan Barnes – who created Lucie in the first place, producer Scott Handcock and I started devising The Further Adventures of Lucie Miller.”
To The Death
To avoid undoing her dramatic and poignant exit in 2011’s ‘To The Death‘, each adventure is set between the first and second series of the Eighth Doctor Adventures range in which Smith and McGann co-starred.
“I have always been clear that I wouldn’t reverse the finality of Lucie’s departure,” continues Briggs, who directed Lucie’s final story. “That would somehow seem like cheating and would lessen the emotional impact of what we did. So my plan was always to revisit Lucie earlier on in her adventures with the Eighth Doctor. It’s pretty much what we do with every classic companion-and-Doctor pairing, so why not do it with Lucie?”
Lucie Bleedin’ Miller
Sheridan Smith first appeared as Lucie Miller in the 2006 story ‘Blood of the Daleks‘ as a co-production between Big Finish and BBC 7. The “brash, Northern lass” was forced upon the Doctor as a galactic witness protection program. By the end of their first series though, she and the Doctor has formed a firm friendship and the Time Lord took her on full time.
Sheridan’s Star
Departing in 2011 after four series, Smith found meteoric success on stage and television. Originating the lead in the West End production of Legally Blonde in 2009, she’d extend her time as Elle Woods for two years. Several years later she starred in a Funny Girl revival at the Savoy Theatre. Among her many television credits, Smith received critical acclaim for her role in The Moorside last year.
So was it difficult to get such an in-demand star back into Big Finish studios alongside her just as busy Doctor of choice?
“Of course, they’re both so busy,” said producer Scott Handcock. “It took a year and a half to find a time they could record together! But it’s been absolutely worth the wait. They slipped effortlessly back into the old dynamic, and it’s a treat to hear these brand-new adventures with the Doctor and Lucie!”
Furthers and Firsts
For ‘The Further Adventures of Lucie Miller’, four episode titles have been confirmed:
- The Dalek Trap by Nicholas Briggs
- The Revolution Game by Alice Cavender
- The House on the Edge of Chaos by Eddie Robson
- Island of the Fendahl by Alan Barnes
The final story, by Alan Barnes, will see the audio debut of the Fendahl. This alien organism first appeared in the 1977 TV story ‘Image of the Fendahl‘.
