A young girl discovers a fluffy alien that has crashed to Earth, unaware that it is being pursued by intergalactic soldiers – but just who is the villain here?

Big Finish’s adaptation of the eight-part 1980 Doctor Who Weekly comic strip is a joy for those of us who grew up with Mills and Wagner’s epic serialised stories. Following on from The Iron Legion, though skipping City of the Damned in true chronology, The Star Beast might only be 34 pages long, but Alan Barnes has fleshed (fluffed?) out the story to a classic four-part structure, clocking in at just under one hour 50.

There’s much to enjoy here in this witty play, Barnes embellishing the already daft script with further Douglas Adams style humour – the Wrarth warriors in particular play out very much like Vogons – and Tom Baker is clearly having a ball. This story marks the first appearance of Beep the Meep, who has since returned in other strips and made his Big Finish debut in 2002’s The Ratings War. He’s beautifully played here by Bethan Dixon Bate, who’s able to jump between the cutesy external persona and the evil inner monologue of the conniving tyrant.

Sharon was the Doctor’s first companion of colour, and she’s played here by Rhianne Starbuck, sparring with schoolmate Fudge, who gets a meatier role here then in the comic. It’s interesting to note that Sharon’s home is Yorkshire (the fictional Blackcastle) pre-empting Doctor 13’s Yaz and Ryan – and Barnes doesn’t pass up the opportunity to make a knowing reference to Sheffield Steel.

Elsewhere, the Angela Ripon plays as newscaster, just like in the comic, which is impressive casting by Big Finish. We don’t get John Leeson playing a confused K9 for a few lines (strictly speaking it would be the late David Brierley this season) but then that would be a hard gig to sell to anyone.

Verdict: An unashamed romp that serves as the official soundtrack to a classic Doctor Who story. As a child I wanted to see these stories on the TV, and this is a very close alternative – I’m hoping that sales justify further adaptations in this series. 9/10

Nick Joy