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Doctor Who: Carole Ann Ford to feature in the First Doctor Adventures with David Bradley

By James Aggas

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Susan, the Doctor’s granddaughter.

(Photo credit: Doctor Who/BBC

Image obtained from: bbc.co.uk/doctorwho.)

In January 2019, Carole Ann Ford will be starring alongside David Bradley in the First Doctor Adventures. But what role will she be playing?

With the second volume of The First Doctor Adventures released later this month, Big Finish announced yesterday that a third volume is already scheduled for January 2019.

Even better, it’ll feature a very special guest star: Carole Ann Ford, the original actress who played the Doctor’s granddaughter, Susan Foreman.

Carole Ann Ford has been working with Big Finish for years. Most notably, she’s appeared in several audios with Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor.

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In these, she plays an older, more mature version of the character. One that’s lived through a lot since the Doctor left her behind to start a new life at the end of The Dalek Invasion of Earth.

But in The First Doctor Adventures, Susan’s played by Claudia Grant. Along with David Bradley, Jamie Glover and Jemma Powell, the cast for The First Doctor Adventures originally appeared in the documentary drama An Adventure in Space and Time. In that special drama, they portrayed the original actors.

For this audio series, however, they’re now playing the characters themselves. Their performances give us a new take on established characters. At the same time, they also remain completely faithful and respectful of the original era.

The first box set was a very strong success, and I’m very much looking forward to the second. So knowing that it’s getting a third volume at least is already brilliant news.

But what’s particularly interesting about the third volume is that Ford isn’t replacing Claudia Grant as Susan. At least, not technically. Grant is still a key actress in the series. So who is Ford playing?

“The Woman”

Currently, Carole Ann Ford’s character is only credited as “The Woman”. While we don’t have a lot of information right now, we still have a few theories about why she’s credited as such.

The idea that I’m least keen on is that she’s playing a brand-new character entirely. It wouldn’t be the first time that a previous actor shows up in a different role to show their respect for a new interpretation.

For example, in the Superman prequel series Smallville, both Christopher Reeve and Dean Cain appeared in completely original roles. There were little nods to both having played Clark Kent before, but just nods.

Honestly, this would be the most disappointing outcome. While The First Doctor Adventures does have a new cast playing hugely established roles, they’re not telling a reboot of the series.

The stories told so far capture the era so perfectly after all, and slot so seamlessly into the gap between the first two seasons. Indeed, I take them as canon as much as many of Big Finish’s other Doctor Who releases.

The next volume of the First Doctor Adventures will be released later this month.

(Photo credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

The End of Time

There is another and more obvious possibility, of course. Specifically, that she’s playing the older Susan, one that Big Finish have written for and developed across the last decade. Susan encountering her future/past, or her grandfather seeing what his granddaughter becomes one day, would be incredibly exciting.

It’s also worth noting that there is another character in Doctor Who history who was credited simply as “The Woman”. In The End of Time, Wilf saw visions of a woman who seemed to know the Doctor very well.

It was never stated on screen who she really was. Russell T Davies stated that his intention for her was to be the Doctor’s mother. But at the same time, he also wanted to leave it open. Will this character have any connection to “The Woman” that Carole Ann Ford will be playing? It’s only a small possibility, but still a possibility, nonetheless.

Marc Platt

There aren’t many details given about the third box set. It’s not even made clear which story “The Woman” appears in. But, judging from the writers announced for the box set, it’s easy to guess.

One of the stories in the third volume of The First Doctor Adventures, The Phoenicians, has been written by Marc Platt. What makes this particularly interesting is the fact that Platt has written a number of key stories that feature Susan.

These include An Earthly Child, which featured the long overdue reunion with her grandfather. Relative Dimensions featured a family Christmas for the Doctor. (It’s exactly as disastrous as you’d expect.)

And he even wrote The Beginning, which covered their first ever journey together. So if anyone was highly likely to write a major story that focused on the Doctor’s granddaughter, it would be Marc Platt.

Overall, this is very exciting news. I’m a big fan of Susan, particularly how Big Finish have handled her story. Having the original actress appear in The First Doctor Adventures sounds like a fantastic mix of old and new.

As well as this exciting meeting, we’ve also got another First Doctor story written by Guy Adams to look forward to. Considering how fantastic The Great White Hurricane is, I strongly suspect that we’ll be getting another essential listen with Tick-Tock World.

Volume three of The First Doctor Adventures will be released in January 2019, on CD and download.

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Are you excited about Carole Ann Ford’s return to the audios? Do you have any ideas of your own on who she could be playing? Let us know in the comments below.

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