Doctor Who news: Tom Baker returns as the Curator in the Eighth Doctor’s next series!

Over six years after Tom Baker’s brief appearance in Doctor Who’s fiftieth anniversary special, the mysterious Curator will return in July 2020!

Well, this is definitely unexpected. While Tom Baker has been with Big Finish Productions for years, he’s mostly been playing the Fourth Doctor. (The ninth series of which was released in two volumes both last month and earlier this week.) But I don’t think any of us expected him to play his other role in Doctor Who: that of the mysterious “Curator” from The Day of the Doctor.

For those of you who don’t remember or are unaware of who the Curator is, the character was essentially a chance for Tom Baker to appear in Doctor Who‘s fiftieth anniversary special. We don’t know much about him, but it was very strongly hinted that, in some way, he is in fact a future incarnation of the Doctor. He was an intriguing character, and one that we never expected to hear from again.

But in July – the same month that Missy: Series 2 gets released – that will change. A brand new saga for the Eighth Doctor begins with the first volume of Stranded, and the mysterious Curator will have a part to play…

Tom Baker plays the mysterious Curator once more.

Image Courtesy Big Finish Productions

Familiar face, mysterious character

Stranded already sounded like a fantastic concept. Focusing on what happens when the Doctor is stuck on twenty-first century Earth, this feels like a natural fit for Paul McGann’s Eighth Doctor, while at the same time, giving him a refreshing change.

But the inclusion of the Curator makes this series even more exciting. Unsurprisingly, Tom Baker is very happy to revisit this brief but intriguing character.

"Who would have thought that doing that little scene written for me all those years ago would have such repercussions years and years later? A lot of fans were intrigued by it, and here we are at last doing something else with him.We had to have a little discussion about how to do it. The lines as they are written are very evocative but they don’t mean exactly what they say. Am I being deliberately evasive, or am I playing a part? Whichever way I look at it, the language remains compelling."

Natural fit

Producer David Richardson reveals why the Curator felt like a natural fit for the Eighth Doctor’s latest series.

"More from Winter is ComingFor All Mankind finally gives us information in Episode 405, “Goldilocks”Watch a stunning VFX breakdown of The Wheel of Time season 2Of course Steve Toussaint (Corlys Velaryon) thinks Eve Best (Rhaenys Targaryen) should rule WesterosConfirmed: The Last of Us season 2 will air in 2025Final season of Star Trek: Discovery will have “a lot of action, a lot of adventure, a lot of fun”Stranded is Doctor Who, but it’s also a contemporary drama… and present-day Earth is precisely where the Curator resides, so it was an irresistible idea to have him step into this series. We approached Steven Moffat with the idea and he was very enthusiastic – giving us some insights to the character which were incredibly useful!"

We’re definitely curious to learn more about what part the Curator plays in Stranded, and how much more we’ll learn about this mysterious character. More than that: we’re eager to find out just how the Doctor and his friends cope when they’re no longer able to travel in time and space…

Stranded 1 will be released on CD and download in July. You can pre-order it now from Big Finish’s website, or purchase it as part of a bundle that includes the rest of the series.

Are you excited about the Curator’s return? What role do you think he has in the Eighth Doctor’s new series? Let us know in the comments below.