Dodo Chaplet – companion to the First Doctor – is coming to Big Finish in 2021, alongside actor Peter Purves who is reprising his role as Steven Taylor.
Dodo Chaplet, for those of who you don’t know, travelled briefly with the First Doctor in the mid 1960s. Played by the actor Jackie Lane, the character represented a ‘groovy’ 60s teenager from contemporary London, who burst into the TARDIS in the closing moments of ‘The Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Eve’ believing it to be a real police box.
And whilst Dodo Chaplet only has three complete stories residing in the BBC archive (‘The Ark,’ ‘The Gunfighters’ and ‘The War Machines’) she has proven to be a popular and enduring character in the Whoniverse, even garnering a cheeky reference in the 2014 episode ‘Death in Heaven.’
So Dodo Chaplet’s return to Doctor Who for Big Finish is an exciting prospect. This time, however, the character will be portrayed by the actor Lauren Cornelius.
In the upcoming adventure – titled ‘Doctor Who – The Early Adventures: The Secrets of Det-Sen’ – the Doctor, Steven and Dodo Chaplet arrive in the Himalayas and set off “a chain of events that will haunt the Doctor through many lives.”
And if all this sounds a bit familiar, it’s because ‘The Secrets of Det-Sen’ is actually a prequel to the Second Doctor story ‘The Abominable Snowmen,’ in which vague references to the Doctor’s earlier visits were made. This new audio drama will finally tell the story as to what the Doctor and his companions got up to during their visit to the Det-Sen monastery.
Producer Alfie Shaw says: “’The Secrets of Det-Sen’ is the first appearance of Dodo as played by Lauren Cornelius. I know there’s been a growing demand for more stories with Dodo, and so it’s a delight to be able to make that happen. Lauren is fantastic in the role, and I can’t wait for listeners to hear her in action!”
Peter Purves, meanwhile, will be taking a dual role in this adventure, as he’ll be standing in for the First Doctor who was originally played by William Hartnell.
‘The Secrets of Det-Sen’ is due to be released in August 2021, and you can pre-order it here.
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