The Doctor makes a trip to the past with Andy along for the ride – but inadvertently alters the lives of two of his lodgers…

It’s part of the fabric of the Stranded set-up that everyone at the Baker Street house seems to have some form of secret – and there’s a good chance that in some way it will relate to the Doctor. Andy and Tania have connections to Torchwood (something about which the Doctor knows nothing apparently), while Ron and Tony turn out to be former members of UNIT… who met during their time there.

Roy Gill’s script takes one of the oldest Doctor Who fan jokes and makes something lovely from it – the heart of the story is Ron and Tony, both in 2020 and back in the UNIT days (and yes, inevitably we get some obfuscation about exactly when that was, following in the footsteps of The Day of the Doctor). The love they display now and the first tentative steps that they’re making then are central, even if Tom Price’s Andy Davidson almost screws things up for them.

There’s a nicely judged contribution from the Brigadier, with Jon Culshaw also playing Lethbridge-Stewart’s antagonist, and Gill has a clever way for the Eighth Doctor to short circuit a number of potential hazards. In the present, Liv and Helen work to establish what’s happening – leading to an unexpected piece of characterisation that sits very well.

Verdict: A good blend of emotional and time travel puzzle. 9/10

Paul Simpson

Click here to order from Big Finish