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Whooverville will return with Whoverville 17 at the Derby QUAD next year

The Whoovers fan grous have confirmed that they’ll be bringing back their popular Whooverville convention in 2026, in association with Derby QUAD. The popular East Midlands convention for fans of the BBC’s Doctor Who is now in its seventeenth year. It will once more take place at the Derby QUAD on Saturday 5th September 2026. (The Derby QUAD has also been home to Big Finish Day in recent years.)

The Whoovers tell fans to expect a day jam-packed with activities, including celebrity guest panels, autograph and photo sessions, displays and dealers, and above all a chance to meet fellow fans in a relaxed and fun environment.

No guest details are available at time of writing. However, Whooverville traditionally offers fans the chance to meet major Doctor Who stars in a casual setting. Past guests include Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Carole Ann Ford, Katy Manning, and more. Whooverville also has a reputation for guests from the world of pro-fandom, too, like Doctor Who Magazine editor Jason Quinn and The Collection documentary producer Chris Chapman.

Guests will be announced over the coming weeks and months on the Whooverville Facebook event page. Tickets for the annual event usually sell out quickly, so keen fans shouldn’t delay in getting theirs.

Tickets are on sale now. Standard tickets cost £60, while concessions are £50, and tickets for accompanied children 12 and under are £20.

You can book your tickets on the Derby Quad website here.

 

Meanwhile, at the British Rocket Group…

In the meantime, the next day out at Derby QUAD from some of the Whoverville team will be The Quatermass Event on the 6th of December this year. Featuring famous Doctor Who researcher and presenter Toby Hadoke, it will boast big screen screenings of all three Hammer Horror versions of Nigel Kneale’s seminal work. Plus talks and discussions about just what makes Quatermass one of the most influential pieces of science fiction of all time. Tickets on sale now at the Derby QUAD site.

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Benton and Hawthorne Investigate is now available in retail stores, and the UNIT sergeant and the white witch go nationwide!

 

After a spell as a Candy Jar Books website exclusive, Benton and Hawthorne Investigate is now available across the UK. The short story collection teams UNIT’s Sergeant John Benton with a new and unexpected partner. The indomitable Miss Hawthorne from the much-loved Third Doctor story, The Dæmons! The late, great Damaris Hayman, of course, played Miss Hawthorne in The Dæmons. Despite that being her only on screen appearance in the show, she quickly became a fan favourite. This special one-off collection of stories is also part of the commemorations marking fifteen years of Candy Jar Books.

Benton and Hawthorne Investigate by Lucy McCaul finds the White Witch from Devil’s End working with UNIT to ward off mythical creatures, uncover the truth behind murder plots, and even head out on a special mission to obtain missile plans and ensure peace.

Benton and Hawthorne Investigate also features a foreword by John Levene, who played Benton in 74 episodes of Doctor Who.

 

“It didn’t seem fair that they only had the one adventure together, so I wrote them some more!”

The book comes from McCaul approaching John Levene about the idea. He says: “I was overjoyed to learn that Lucy has created a whole world of new adventures for Miss Hawthorne and my character. We’ve made six stories that really fit into the spirit of 1970s Doctor Who – and personally take me back to the wonderfully happy time I spent filming in Aldbourne, which doubled for Devil’s End. Lucy and I are very proud of the final collection and can’t wait for fans to enjoy them too.”

McCaul adds: “Sergeant Benton and Miss Hawthorne made such a great team in The Dæmons – it didn’t seem fair that they only had the one adventure together, so I wrote them some more! When I gave the stories to John Levene at Aldbourne, I couldn’t have imagined what would happen next. I’m very grateful to him for his enthusiasm in advocating for the stories. This wouldn’t have happened without his efforts. I hope that readers enjoy these new adventures for classic characters and this tribute to the era of the Third Doctor.”

 

“From quiet English villages where evil is brewing to an international threat in mainland Europe.”

Keren Williams, Candy Jar Books’ Head of Marketing, says: “We’ve covered so many aspects of Doctor Who in that time – from art books to the Lethbridge-Stewart novels, memoirs to The Lucy Wilson Mysteries – so we really wanted a fresh and unexpected approach, to add to that ever-growing universe of stories. That’s what Benton and Hawthorne is, and the playful cover, unlike anything Candy Jar’s done before, is perfectly evocative of that. It’s a little bit of magic.”

Philip Bates, who previously wrote 100 Objects of Doctor Who and Companions: More Than Sixty Years of Doctor Who Assistants, is the editor of Benton and Hawthorne Investigate. He says: “I’ve always loved The Dæmons (like most fans!), but even more so, I loved hearing all the anecdotes that came from behind the scenes. The serial is all the better for knowing that the cast and crew were having such a fantastic time together. These short stories, then, come from that happiness, an extension of it, almost a nostalgic bubble to get lost in. They take you from quiet English villages where evil is brewing to an international threat in mainland Europe.”

Lucy explains: “I studied in Trier in Germany for a year when I was at university, so I thought it would be fun to include a place I knew so well. I hope readers are transported there and want to visit because it really is a beautiful city.”

The location for the first story, The Wyverns of Addershall Hall, is also based on the Colchester Campus of the University of Essex. McCaul spent a couple of years studying, and the nearby village of Wivenhoe too!

 

Benton and Hawthorne Investigate (c) Candy Jar Books Benton and Hawthorne Investigate

Murder! Magic! Morning tea!

When UNIT is called in to investigate strange goings-on at Addershall Hall, they uncover a supernatural menace about to be unleashed upon the world. They need an expert. They need Miss Hawthorne.

Or “Aunt Olive”, as Sergeant John Benton of UNIT calls her.

The pair must go undercover to find out the truth about the wyverns ushered into this universe by a clandestine group of evil-worshippers. Tempted away from Devil’s End, Miss Hawthorne soon gets a taste for adventure, and so, in these six short stories, she and Benton have to track down the reason for mysterious earthquakes across the sleepy village of Lower Budworthy, slip out the Wringford Worm’s grip, and find themselves in Germany, recovering experimental missile plans. Of course, they also meet some new friends – and plenty of enemies – along the way.

It’s Agatha Christie, spliced with dark magic, and infused with that warm nostalgic glow of the 1970s Doctor Who Target novels.

Going beyond The Dæmons, the Brigadier assists Benton and Hawthorne in this exciting confrontation with the forces of black magic!

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Original writer Robin Mukherjee resurrects his 1990 lost story Alixion, in one of Big Finish’s best explorations of the post-Survival Ace

There are many different types of Lost Stories. Some were never made because script editors changed direction, or writers became unavailable. Others were simply so different in the final version that there can be a thrill in exploring the original intent. But some rare few, like Axilion, faded from view because Doctor Who itself vanished into the darkness. While the show returned in 2005, it’s only now that Big Finish are bringing Axilion back into the light.

Script editor Andrew Cartmel gave old writing workshop collaborator Robin Mukherjee a commission to provide a three part story for the 1990 season. A season which ultimately never materialised.Big Finish have produced other adaptations of potential Season 27 stories. Yet Axilion feels the most substantial and real. Despite originally never advancing past the outline stage, and the writing losing the outline in the decades since, it feels like a polished and confident execution of that original idea.

 

The story uses its SF ideas to touch on themes of self-recrimination and intrusive thoughts in a very real, true to life, way

The Doctor brings Ace to Alixion, a moon once home to an ancient order of monks. Now, however, it’s a luxury health spa that trades on that mythology and history. In the Whoniverse it feels like most destination spas are the cover for aliens preying on the guests. But Axilion can take pride in being pretty much the original take on the idea. It’s also one of the best iterations so far. There are some twistedly nasty secrets buried in the warren of tunnels around the resort, while the notion of the company exporting health drinks that give many a compulsion to visit them is a neat one.

A suitable alternate title for the story could have been Intrusive Thoughts. It’s those which power the plot in multiple ways. The hive queen extends her influence across the star system by gaining access to the thoughts and fears of anyone who uses the drink. There’s also strangely helpful disembodied voice Colin. Ace and the Doctor can each hear Colin talking to them in separate conversations, like someone flipping between different chats. He’s still an intrusion, though, and one Ace wishes she could get a break from, as he comments on her every memory, offering mysterious sounding advice. And why is so keen the two friends should each abandon the other, anyway?

Most significantly, though, the hive queen’s form of attack echoes the real life phenomenon. Both the Doctor and Ace, but the Perivale teen in particular, are targeted with a constant stream of vivid flashbacks to bad things they’ve done, bad things they might have done, and bad things others might think they’ve done.

 

The now experienced television writer effectively script edits his younger new hire self to produced a smooth and accomplished piece

These flashbacks also provide Mukherjee with his smooth, clever solution for turning a three episode plot into a four parter. What was a single scene in the original plan is here an entire subplot of its own. The Doctor offers to take a new young friend for ‘just one trip’ in the TARDIS. The Time Lord picks the safest, most serene destination he can think of. But with Axilion’s central theme of regret, consequence, and self-loathing, it’s not hard to guess where the Doctor’s decisions will ultimately lead…

Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred, after a quarter of a century of friendship, are as superb together as always. Nobody knows their characters better than they do, and with Wicked! promising all the full on fun and banter of their 1980s heyday, Alixion is a timely reminder of the deep emotional bond between the two in those seasons. It’s certainly a must by for Ace fans. Her troubled childhood and steady growth as a young woman are sensitively explored. It dove-tails beautifully with her Season 26 character arc.

Had it made it to television, Axilion would have formed a loose thematic trilogy with Ghost Light and Curse of Fenric. It’s every bit the equal of those tales, and the most satisfying version of what our heroes went next after people made of smoke, and cities made of song.

 

 

Doctor Who: Alixion. Cover by Grant Kempster (c) Big Finish Doctor Who: Alixion

Checking into a luxury health spa for a little rest and recreation, the Doctor and Ace find themselves at the mercy of a malign entity that craves the conquest of time and space.

Exploiting their memories and regrets, the queen of the hive, which hides behind the polished walls of the spa, forces them to confront their deepest fears as she steals the Doctor’s life force to spread her powers across the universe.

Doctor Who – The Lost Stories: Alixion is now available to purchase for just £13.99 (download to own) or £16.99 (download to own + collector’s edition 2-disc CD), exclusively here. Please note: the collector’s edition CD is strictly limited to 1,750 copies and will not be repressed. 

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Covers for the second part of the Doctor and Belinda’s prison break adventure are out now

Pre-order listings for Doctor Who: The Prison Paradox #2 are up now, including the four variant covers to choose from. They also reveal the release date of the 3rd of December.

 

Doctor Who: The Prison Paradox #2. Cover A by Abigail Harding (c) Titan Comics

Cover A is by Abigail Jill Harding, who previously did covers for The Fugitive Doctor and Empire of the Wolf Doctor Who comics. It promises intense action in the second issue of the four part series, with an image of a gigantic Zygon rearing up behind the Doctor in a flooded tunnel. With Harding listing legendary artist HR Giger as one of the main influences on her work, it’s probably no mistake it echoes the similar scene in Aliens when a xenomorph rises from the water behind Newt.

 

 

Doctor Who: The Prison Paradox #2. Cover B (c) Titan Comics

Cover B is a photo cover featuring an image of Ncuti Gatwa and Verada Sethu as the Doctor and Belinda in the doorway of the TARDIS.

 

Doctor Who: The Prison Paradox #2. Cover C by Sami Kivela (c) Titan Comics

Cover C is by series artist Sami Kivela. Like her cover for #1 homages the classic X-Man: Days of Future Past cover, this time with Sea Devils, Hath, Voord, and more.

 

Doctor Who: The Prison Paradox #2. Cover D by Pedro Andreo

Cover D is by Pedro Andreo. It features the whole gang the Doctor’s put together for his prison break plan. But will the mysterious and power Governor fall for the plan, or will he keep the Doctor prisoner forever.

 

In the meantime, issue 1 will be out on the 5th of November. You can find all the variant covers for that first part here.

 

Doctor Who: The Prison Paradox #2

20th Anniversary of the 1st appearance of the Slitheen! From Dan Watters, the acclaimed writer of Batman, Nightwing and Shredder experience a Doctor Who adventure like no other as The Doctor, Belinda, and an unlikely team of allies infiltrate a prison holding monsters and villains from across the cosmos. With new friends and old foes, and some old foes who might just be new friends, it’s an adventure that will take you across the Whoniverse… and beyond!

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Production has begun on Star Wars: Starfighter, with Matt Smith’s new villain in cinemas for Star Wars’ 50th Anniversary

Doctor Who’s Matt Smith will finally be travelling to a galaxy far, far away for a role in Star Wars: Starfighter. Smith will be starring alongside modern horror icon Mia Goth (MaXXXine, Frankenstein) as the film’s villains. Opposite them, Ryan Gosling (Barbie, Drive, Blade Runner 2049), famously a slightly surprising Doctor Who fan himself, leads the heroes. Other stars include Aaron Pierre, Simon Bird, Jamael Westman, Daniel Ings, and Amy Adams.

There’s very little detail publicly available about Starfighter, however. Lucasfilm have simply described the move as “an entirely original story set in a period of time never before explored in Star Wars.” Considering the large number of Star Wars series and films so far that doesn’t seem to leave many options. Perhaps one possibility is a setting between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. That would mean a background of a galaxy where separatist tensions haven’t yet exploded into the Clone Wars. Another option is a narrative which takes it beyond the final destruction of the Sith in Rise of Skywalker.

Matt Smith was previously due to appear in Rise of Skywalker, though the rapidly evolving script ultimately meant his character’s removal. Some have speculated that he was to play a clone of the Dark Lord Palpatine. However, others say his character was an embodiment of the Dark Side, made flesh by Palpatine’s experiments. Either way, it’s unlikely there’s any connection to his new villain.

Starfighter entered production a few weeks ago, and will be in cinemas on the 28th of May, 2027, 50 years to the week after the original Star Wars film.

In the meantime, viewers can currently see Matt Smith in Darren Aronofsky’s Caught Stealing. He’s also completed filming of Nick Cave adaptation The Death of Bunny Munro for release later this year, and will be returning for the next season of House of the Dragon.

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