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The Brigadier needs all the help he can get – and that includes Professor River Song.

Alex Kingston is back as Professor River Song in her ninth box set of full cast audio adventures from Big Finish Productions.

Set for release in October 2021, The Diary of River Song: New Recruit finds the Doctor’s time-travelling archaeologist wife back in the 1970s – or is it the 1980s? – as she teams up with fan-favourites Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Jon Culshaw) and Dr Liz Shaw (Daisy Ashford).

With adventures featuring everything from spooky folklore in an English village to ambitious scientists overreaching themselves, and a good old-fashioned alien invasion, this is a box set not to be missed.

The four stories are as follows:

The Blood Woods by Lizbeth Myles

Terror of the Suburbs by James Kettle

Never Alone by Helen Goldwyn

Rivers of Light by Lisa McMullin

Alex Kingston said: “River Song is the longest role I’ve played – over 13 years! –  but I’m not tired of her at all. I’ve become very fond of this lovely character. And my gosh, not only does this role keep on going, but look at all the husbands that she’s had along the way! There just seem to be endless opportunities to go on these fabulous adventures. It’s fantastic and I love it. Long may it last!”

Script editor Matt Fitton added: “River Song has joined UNIT! And with the Doctor out of the picture, it’s up to her and Liz Shaw to be the Brigadier’s scientific advisers on the odd and unexplained. I love the idea of Dr Song and Dr Shaw having a whole ‘season’ of adventures of their own, following on from Inferno – two brilliant scientists saving the world in style. The dynamic between River and Liz is fantastic, but it may well be that River has an agenda in coming to this time and place… And when the Doctor does return, there’ll be fireworks!”

The Diary of River Song: New Recruit is now available to pre-order from the Big Finish website at £24.99 as a collector’s edition four-disc CD box set or £19.99 as a download.