The Orphan Quartet is the new Doctor Who audio adventure that fans can get excited over.

By Morgan Cormack

Published: Friday, 30 June 2023 at 12:00 am

Doctor Who fans, we have some excellent news. While this year is jam-packed full of more exciting 60th anniversary adventures to come, we now have further cast details for the new River Song audio adventure, as well as some exciting cover art for the drama.

The Diary of River Song: The Orphan Quartet follows the Doctor’s wife, River Song, as she has to solve a number of mysteries, all while navigating a personal loss.

River Song has been played over the years by Alex Kingston and the actress reprises her role for yet another Big Finish drama. She has had adventures with the Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors, last being seen on Doctor Who in 2015 Christmas special The Husbands of River Song.

Now, in this new season of the audio drama, we once again follow Kingston’s River Song, and she is joined by a cast of characters which RadioTimes.com can exclusively reveal.

Those joining The Orphan Quartet include Nina Toussaint-White (EastEnders, Emmerdale), Joseph Millson (The Sarah Jane Adventures), Sarah-Jane Potts (Sugar Rush, Waterloo Road) and S Club Juniors member turned West End performer Jay Perry.

Intriguingly, Toussaint-White has of course already appeared in Doctor Who as Mels, an earlier incarnation who regenerated into Kingston’s River Song, and also voiced Brooke 2 in previous Diary of River Song audio adventures.

They join previously announced cast member Camille Coduri, who reprises her role as Jackie, Rose Tyler’s mother.

According to the synopsis for The Orphan Quartet, which forms the 12th season of The Diary of River Song, it seems as though the Professor will find herself very busy with a slew of new mysteries to solve.

It reads: “An old enemy hides beyond the universe, a desolate Cornish inn confronts the truth, a grieving mother holds onto a deadly memento of war, and has the Earth failed to notice it’s been invaded? Professor River Song must solve all this while dealing with a loss of her own.”

You can see the cover art for the season below.

BBC

The four new episodes include: The Excise Men by Lou Morgan, Harvest of the Krotons by James Goss, Dead Man Talking by Tim Foley and The Wife of River Song by Lizzie Hopley. This set of episodes is being produced by James Goss, no stranger to the Doctor Who universe by any means.

Speaking to Big Finish’s Vortex magazine, Goss said: “River Song is such a brilliant character and we’ve tried to really honour her in these stories.

“It was Tim [Foley] who came up with the idea of four adventures that help River deal with something significant that’s happened in her life so there’s a loose connection between each story. Other than that, it’s four episodes that are full of action.”

Read more: 

• Doctor Who stars Peter Davison and Georgia Tennant reunite for new adventure
• Doctor Who casts BAFTA winner Lenny Rush as new character Morris

The season will wrap up with the final episode by Lizzie Hopley, and Goss says: “The Wife of River Song allows the box set to go out with a bang. It’s an incredibly ambitious piece of work by Lizzie that’s an action adventure space opera and also a psychedelic time travel mind game.”

While the episodes will see the return of the Krotons, the Cornish coast being attacked in the 18th century and River Song having to confront three realities, writer and script editor Tim Foley said there’s still so much more to explore with this character.

Speaking to Vortex, he said: “With each release I learn more about her. This was my earliest, where she gets to discuss Amy. The Two Rivers held up a mirror to who she was, and then Friend of the Family allowed me to really deep dive into what makes her tick. I’d love to write a story with her and the Doctor. I have ideas!”