Doctor Who: Peri’s new boyfriend joins the TARDIS team in Blood on Santa’s Claw!

December’s Doctor Who audio story will see the TARDIS team gain a new member – Joe Carnaby, Peri’s new boyfriend in Blood on Santa’s Claw!

Well, that’s an interesting bit of news. Not only will Blood on Santa’s Claw be a Christmas anthology, as revealed earlier this month. But it seems that, along with the Sixth Doctor and Peri, the Doctor Who anthology will also feature a new member of the TARDIS team – Joe Carnaby, 80s synth band singer and Peri’s new boyfriend!

Played by Luke Allen-Gale, Joe meets Peri when she and the Doctor arrive during a recording of Top of the Pops. And it sounds like the new couple get along extremely quickly, as Allen-Gale reveals:

"They are very much enamoured with each other in that young love kind of way. It’s exciting and new and adventurous and there’s lots of laughter. Joe wants to have a good time and enjoy himself."

Nicola Bryant, who plays Peri, is very excited about this storyline – particularly as Peri gets to play the role of teacher when it comes to showing her new boyfriend the joys and dangers of travelling in time and space.

"I am very excited that Peri is finally going to get the lovely boyfriend that she deserves.  It’s nice that she has someone she feels responsible for. I also like the fact she takes on more of the Doctor’s role in these stories and teaches Joe how to be a companion."

Along with featuring a Christmas theme, Blood on Santa’s Claw and Other Stories will also introduce Joe, a new companion – and a new boyfriend for Peri!

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

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Christmas celebration

Nev Fountain, who writes one of the four stories in this anthology, reveals what we can expect from this collection, and its interesting approach to introducing Joe to the TARDIS life.

"The idea of introducing him by just throwing him into a box set of short stories was an interesting one and I think it worked. We meet the Doctor, Peri and new TARDIS traveller Joe Carnaby as they journey through the 59th century, an annoyingly silly time in Earth’s history. I look forward to writing for the Doctor, Peri and Joe in their next series of adventures!"

John Ainsworth, producer and director of this release, explains more on just how Christmas-y this release will be.

"It’s hard to come up with a new spin on the Christmas theme and tell exciting Doctor Who stories at the same time, but I think our four stories in this anthology tick all the boxes – tinsel, carols, Dickens, reindeer, and even Santa himself."

Christmas darkness

That really does sound like quite the Christmas list! Of course, this being Doctor Who, it isn’t going to be all Christmas cheer, as Ainsworth further explains.

"The stories actually get quite dark in places, and Peri in particular has to live through some quite traumatic events."

Honestly, this doesn’t surprise me. Not one bit. Peri has gone through hell over the years, and I’m not expecting that to change anytime soon. Especially when Nev Fountain is one of the writers. Yes, Peri and the Piscon Paradox and The Widow’s Assassin are extremely hilarious to listen to. But they also feature some dark and even brutal moments. Which begs the question: will Joe be able to make it out of this anthology alive? We look forward to finding out next month.

Blood on Santa’s Claw and Other Stories is available to pre-order on CD and download from Big Finish’s website. For more story details, check out our earlier article on the anthology here.

Are you excited to listen to this anthology? Eager to hear what Peri’s new boyfriend sounds like? And are you as amazed as I am that Big Finish have somehow found a way of making Nicola Bryant’s brief appearance on Top of the Pops canon to Doctor Who? Let us know in the comments below.