Doctor Who: Cover art and details revealed for Sixth Doctor Christmas anthology

While we may not be getting a Christmas special on TV this year, Big Finish are giving us four brand new Doctor Who adventures set during Christmas next month with Blood on Santa’s Claw and Other Stories!

I don’t know about you, but I love Christmas. The holiday cheer, the Christmas music (admittedly, the older songs are the best), the fact that it works almost as well for horror stories as much as Halloween itself – I love everything about it. And, of course, I do enjoy a Doctor Who Christmas special, too.

We didn’t get that last year, at least not on television. We most likely won’t be getting one this year, either. But thankfully, Big Finish have got us covered with next month’s Blood on Santa’s Claw and Other Stories – an anthology of four half-hour stories, all starring Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor and Nicola Bryant as Peri. And, as you can guess from the title, all of them focused around Christmas.

I’m very excited to listen to this one. While the Christmas specials themselves could be pretty hit-and-miss, they still felt like an essential part of the season. After 2005, it didn’t feel like Christmas Day if Doctor Who wasn’t on.

So it’s fantastic that Big Finish are giving us four new stories at once, all focused around the holiday spirit. I’ve also grown to be quite fond of the team of the Sixth Doctor and Peri, and with one of the episodes written by Nev Fountain – who’s given us some amazing stories over the years – this is sure to be a fun listen.

The exciting new cover artwork for Blood on Santa’s Claw and Other Stories.

(Image credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish. Image Courtesy: Big Finish Productions.)

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Story details

Here’s what to expect from the upcoming anthology.

"Blood on Santa’s Claw by Alan TerigoThe Doctor and Peri land on the planet Naxios, where they discover the body of Father Christmas. Who killed him? The strange individuals dressed in Shakespearian costume or the talking animals wearing waistcoats digging in the tunnels?The Baby Awakes by Susan DennomThe Doctor and Peri visit the Ishtar institute, where the term ‘Designer Babies’ takes on a new and sinister meaning. Will our heroes survive Christmas day?I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day by Andrew LiasA Christmas party that’s been going on for three years. Strange silver robots who guard the Christmas decorations with lethal force. What is the secret behind the festivities on Tate Galactic?Brightly Shone The Moon That Night by Nev FountainThe TARDIS crew encounters a shameful secret of the Time Lords. History has been rewritten, and this time it’s all the Doctor’s fault."

Along with the shared Christmas theme, what’s particularly exciting about this anthology is that, other than Nev Fountain, all the writers featured are brand new to Big Finish. So we’ll be getting some fresh new storytellers with this release. I’m excited to find out what they bring to this anthology, and to Doctor Who on audio.

Blood on Santa’s Claw and Other Stories is available to pre-order on CD and download directly from Big Finish’s website.

Are you a fan of Christmas specials? Which one is your favorite? Do you think Blood on Santa’s Claw could be a worthy substitute for the TV specials? Let us know in the comments below.