Saffron is not happy – she’s got off her train to check where they are and it’s gone without her… leaving her on the worst station in Britain…

Robert Valentine’s story leads off the Back to Earth box set, beginning Christopher Eccleston’s second year of adventures for Big Finish. It’s a spooky tale, very much in the mould of the Ghost Stories for Christmas, or Sapphire and Steel, as the Doctor and Saffron try to work out where they are, why they can’t get out – and who, what and where is the Grimminy-Grue.

Helen Goldwyn’s direction and Iain Meadows’ sound design add to the tension – I’ve never been quite so glad to hear a familiar engine sound as towards the end of this – and once again, the characterisation draws from the Steven Moffat take on the Ninth Doctor, an aspect that Eccleston delivers so well, but with suitable twists.

Goldwyn has gathered a cast of less familiar voices which removes some of the preconceptions that inevitably accrete subconsciously. Indigo Griffiths leads the guest actors as Saffron, but each has an important part to play, particularly as it’s vital that you believe that each has a life before this story, with all its attendants hopes, fears and regrets.

Verdict: A ghostly gathering starts things off well. 8/10

Paul Simpson

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