A new companion joins Colin Baker’s Sixth Doctor and Bonnie Langford’s Mel Bush in Big Finish’s Water Worlds: marine biologist, Hebe Harrison — the Doctor’s first-ever wheelchair-using companion — played by the BAFTA-nominated Ruth Madeley!
As the trio explore wondrous water worlds, they find an ocean on the moon, befriend a fish-like alien, and encounter a flooded town with survivors resorting to desperate measures.
Popular Australian actor, presenter, and comedian, Rove McManus, guest stars in The Rotting Deep as Jonah Strong, a fainthearted TV star. And in the closing story, Coronation Street actress and disability rights advocate Cherylee Houston MBE debuts as Hebe’s best friend, Elise.
Here’s the synopsis:
The Sixth Doctor returns, and he’s thrown straight in at the deep end! Travelling the galaxy with Melanie ‘Mel’ Bush and their brand-new companion, marine biologist Hebe Harrison, there are wonders to see, dangers to face and plenty of peril beneath the waves.
And here’s what to expect:
The Rotting Deep by Jacqueline Rayner
A mysterious SOS summons the Doctor and Mel to an oil rig in the North Sea where a dwindling group of survivors awaits rescue from a lethal menace. One of their number is Hebe Harrison, a wheelchair-using marine biologist who is definitely more than she seems. Can our heroes escape the rig? And just what is killing off the rig’s beleaguered crew?
The Tides of the Moon by Joshua Pruett
For Hebe’s first trip in the TARDIS, the Doctor and Mel take her to the nearest available ‘water world’ – the Moon, two billion years in the past! Its advanced humanoid inhabitants, the Gilleans, are terrorised each night by their monstrous enemies, the Sheega. Even more worrying is that in a matter of hours, this ocean world will be laid waste by the gravitational interference of the blue-green planet next door…
Maelstrom by Jonathan Morris
The Doctor, Mel and Hebe visit the archipelago world of Veludia, only to discover a planet beset by electromagnetic storms where three survivors traverse the seas in a ramshackle ‘township’. These survivors are ‘corps’ – bodies used as hosts for minds stored in the vessel’s ‘mind-drive’ – and the Doctor, Mel and Hebe are seen as welcome replacements. But there’s something lurking in the waters below, something of rage and power that wishes to destroy them all: the Maelstrom!
All purchases of Water Worlds also include a new bonus download audiobook in the Doctor Who – Interludes series, entitled The Dream Nexus, written by Adam Christopher and narrated by Toby Hadoke.
Ruth Madeley said:
“I loved my first trip in the TARDIS. It’s a dream of mine that’s finally been realised. I’m very excited about it.
“As a disabled actor, it’s always really exciting when things are authentic. To have a disabled actor to play Hebe was always going to be key. She has so many different layers to her. I think she’s a very exciting character to add into the mix and I feel very honoured that I get to do that.
“It’s great for the fanbase and young kids to see themselves represented in a world they love and cherish. It’s fantastic to be a part of that.
“I have fallen head over heels in love with Hebe – I think she’s fantastic. I just want to know more about her. It’s really fun to be able to play around with that. I particularly love her relationship with Mel and the Doctor. I think she brings a lot to the story.”
Colin Baker added:
“My Doctor always needs to be reminded that he can be a little overbearing and now I have two perfect companions to do that. I think it’s very good for Ol’ Sixie. It’s a lovely dynamic.
“The world is full of difference and the more frequent the difference the better. We’re all people and that’s what matters. Long may it continue.”
Bonnie Langford added:
“It’s great to have somebody else as part of the team. Mel likes to take people under her wing a little bit but sometimes she can be a bit overpowering. It’s quite nice to have this extra dynamic to liven it up a bit.
“From the word go, we’ve understood and addressed that we all make mistakes and need to learn – but with humour. Hebe’s character is great because she plays on it sometimes and teases them. It’s terrific.”
The Sixth Doctor Adventures: Water Worlds is now available to own for £19.99 (as a CD box set + download) or £16.99 (download only) from the Big Finish website.
