Doctor Who news: Sadie Miller will play Sarah Jane Smith in Fourth Doctor audio

More details have been revealed on the audio adaptation of unmade Doctor Who story Return of the Cybermen – including who’s playing iconic companions Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan!

Last month, Big Finish announced that it was adapting the previously unmade Fourth Doctor story Return of the Cybermen for audio. Originally planned for Season 12, the script was so heavily revised that it was completely replaced by Revenge of the Cybermen.

Doctor Who Magazine revealed a particularly exciting detail. The serial was originally meant to feature companions Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan, originally portrayed by Elisabeth Sladen and Ian Marter. Rather than change the story and replace the companions with different ones, both roles have now been recast, with Sadie Miller and Christopher Naylor portraying the much-loved characters.

What makes Sadie Miller’s casting particularly interesting is that she is none other than the daughter of Elisabeth Sladen herself. Unsurprisingly, Miller did not accept the role lightly.

"When Big Finish asked me to play Sarah Jane for this story, I was very nervous. I didn’t want to create a performance from someone else’s. So I tried to approach it as I would with any other role. I’ve tried to find my own piece of Sarah – the part of my mum that’s in me."

This isn’t the first time that Sadie Miller has acted for Big Finish – she had also worked with her mother Elisabeth Sladen in the audio spin-off series Sarah Jane Smith.

Image Courtesy Big Finish Productions

Recasting an icon

This is definitely a huge move for Big Finish. After all, Sarah Jane Smith is an absolutely iconic companion, and a key reason for that was Elisabeth Sladen and her excellent performance. It’s hard to separate the character from her, with only one other actress playing the role on television (specifically, Jessica Ashworth, who briefly played Sarah Jane as a child in The Sarah Jane Adventures).

However, at the same time, this felt almost inevitable. For the past five years at least, Big Finish has recast several major roles, including the Third Doctor, Liz Shaw, and the Brigadier. Originally played by Jon Pertwee, Caroline John and Nicholas Courtney on television, all three characters are now played by Tim Treloar, Daisy Ashford, and Jon Culshaw, respectively.

Daisy Ashford’s casting was particularly notable due to her being Caroline John’s daughter. So hearing that Big Finish had taken a similar approach with casting Sadie Miller as Smith isn’t too much of a surprise, at least. Especially as Ashford was fantastic as Liz in last year’s box set The Third Doctor Adventures: Volume 5.

Producer David Richardson reveals why casting Sadie Miller felt like the right choice.

"How do you recast Sarah Jane Smith? Would you even want to? Those were the questions that bothered us – we love the character. We loved Lis Sladen. We worried it might be too soon and too difficult to go there. But then we realised that part of Lis lives on in Sadie, and Sadie has beautifully brought that to the role of Sarah – we all approached this carefully, and respectfully, and with love and I couldn’t be happier with Sadie’s performance. She’s done her mum proud."

More from Winter is Coming

• For All Mankind finally gives us information in Episode 405, “Goldilocks”
• Watch a stunning VFX breakdown of The Wheel of Time season 2
• Of course Steve Toussaint (Corlys Velaryon) thinks Eve Best (Rhaenys Targaryen) should rule Westeros
• Confirmed: The Last of Us season 2 will air in 2025
• Final season of Star Trek: Discovery will have “a lot of action, a lot of adventure, a lot of fun”

Harry Sullivan

But, as mentioned, it’s not just Sarah who’s been recast. We also have Christopher Naylor playing Harry Sullivan, too. While the character was only a regular for one season, Harry is still remembered and loved by fans to this day, thanks to an endearing performance by Ian Marter. So even recasting his character was a massive decision. Fortunately, the experience Big Finish has had working with Naylor in the past also made it an easy one, as David Richardson explains.

"Tom [Baker] has actually worked many times before with Christopher Naylor, who’s played guest roles throughout different series of the Fourth Doctor Adventures. Chris is a very versatile actor, so we can cast him in so many things. But, we realised, he’s also the perfect Harry. Again, it’s very hard to follow Ian Marter, but Chris has managed to do that and Tom was full of praise for what both Sadie and Chris have done. I wonder where they could pop up next?"

Could we expect more stories with Sarah Jane and Harry, perhaps even original stories in The Fourth Doctor Adventures? Honestly, I certainly hope so. Season 12 gave us a much-loved team with some really brilliant stories, and it would be great to get more stories with this particular trio. But only time will tell when we can expect such stories.

Return of the Cybermen is currently scheduled to be released in January 2021, and is available to pre-order on CD and download directly from Big Finish’s website.

Are you happy that the role of Sarah Jane has been recast? Do you think Sadie Miller is the right choice for the role? Let us know in the comments below.