Doctor Who: The Monk meets Winston Churchill in March!

In March, a classic Doctor Who villain meets a British icon, in the upcoming Seventh Doctor story Subterfuge.

For quite a while, Big Finish has remained very tight-lipped about upcoming Doctor Who story Subterfuge, starring Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor. The story is the last in a kind of trilogy, although this one’s a little more different than usual.

For instance, these aren’t stories that are consecutive in terms of chronology. In fact, this month’s audio release – Dark Universe – takes place close to the end of the Doctor’s seventh life, while the other two – The Psychic Circus and Subterfuge – take place much earlier.

However, while these stories don’t take place close together, it was easy to see what linked the first two: major Time Lord enemies. In Dark Universe, the Doctor had to deal with the Eleven – a Time Lord psychopath in his eleventh incarnation that retains all of his previous personalities. In fact, the story acts as a rather crucial bit of backstory to Eighth Doctor series Doom Coalition, so many fans were eager to hear this one.

Next month’s The Psychic Circus looks set to be equally exciting. Not only is it both a sequel and a prequel to the classic Seventh Doctor story The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, but it also features the Master. One that’s chronologically far earlier compared to all the ones we know.

Along with Rufus Hound returning as the Monk, Subterfuge also features Ian McNeice reprising his role of Winston Churchill.

(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Return of the Monk

So when the trailer came out for Subterfuge recently and mentioned an enemy that was “meddling” in history, it wasn’t hard to guess who that enemy was. Today, Big Finish has finally confirmed who the Doctor will be facing in this release: the Meddling Monk, as played by Rufus Hound.

Hound has been playing the Monk for a good few years now, ever since 2015 audio The Black Hole. Interestingly, this was released the same year that Hound appeared in the TV series playing another role – the humorous highwayman Sam Swift in The Woman Who Lived – although the Monk is definitely a far more memorable and suitable role for him. He’s been having a lot of fun with the character for several years with several Doctors now, and it’s fantastic that he’ll be meeting Sylvester McCoy’s slightly darker Doctor next.

Along with the Monk, the Doctor will also be meeting Winston Churchill, once again played by Ian McNeice, who originally played the role in Victory of the Daleks and appeared in several Eleventh Doctor episodes. Big Finish have been exploring the history of the man’s relationship with the Doctor for a while now, and in fact, he’ll be appearing in the next box set of The Third Doctor Adventures just a couple of months later.

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The Doctor vs Churchill?

The Monk meeting Churchill sounds like a brilliant idea. Even better is that it seems like the Monk is trying to help Churchill to win an election in 1945 – an election that he’s not meant to win. So this time, to keep history on track, the Doctor will have to work against his old friend as well as his old enemy.

Rufus Hound gives us a glimpse of what to expect from this upcoming release.

"This feels like a really classic Doctor Who story, with the Seventh Doctor actually helping Churchill by not helping him. To an extent, as someone who wants to deify Winnie without a second thought as to what’s better for everyone else, the Monk may well be a cypher for any number of modern public servants. It’s not really a political story per se, but it is a chance for me to (time) lord it up over Sylvester McCoy so, as ever, it’s been an absolute pleasure to play."

This sounds like a particularly intriguing release, and I can’t wait to find out what happens when three great characters collide later this year.

Doctor Who: Subterfuge will be released on CD and download in March from Big Finish Productions, and can be pre-ordered now from their website.

Are you excited about the Monk meeting Churchill? Are you a fan of the Monk? Do you think he should appear in the TV series at some point? Let us know in the comments below.