Lucie Miller Returns to Big Finish in Short Trips

Philip Bates is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

It’s been five long years since we last heard Lucie Miller alongside Paul McGann’s Eighth Doctor… but she’ll be back in just a few months’ time!

Lucie, played by the award-winning Sheridan Smith, will return for April’s Short Trips release, The Curse of the Fugue by Alice Cavender, which sees her and the Doctor pushed into events at an old people’s home during Britain’s Winter of Discontent. Sheridan said:

“I have missed Big Finish. And I have missed playing Lucie – I can’t tell you, honestly, those years of playing her with Paul McGann were so much fun. I’m very grateful and happy to be back in the studio. The fans have been great, they’ve really taken to her, they write lovely messages to me on Twitter. I’ve missed her!”

This will be the first time she’s come back to the Whoniverse since 2011’s To The Death. And producer, Ian Atkins is certainly over the moon she’s back:

“I love what the creators of Lucie did with that character – someone you just so enjoyed travelling with as she saw the universe. She has a huge heart, bravery, and a quip for every occasion, and that range was what brought me to the Big Finish fold, years (as with many, many others) before I started working for them. So when I first got producership of the Short Trips range, and director Lisa Bowerman and I had a big ‘wish list’ meeting, doing some Lucie Miller stories was top of that list. And that meant getting Sheridan on board… She couldn’t have been kinder in working to find time in what is an insanely busy schedule. Her love and memory of the character couldn’t be stronger, and within minutes of her arrival, Lucie was saving the day again. It’s a tribute to the original work done by Alan Barnes, Nicholas Briggs, Jason Haigh-Ellery and Barnaby Edwards (amongst many others) that she was so keen to come back.”

Writer Alice Cavender added:

“I remember how an understandably grumpy Lucie Miller first found her feet in the TARDIS and how she grew through her travels. She stole my heart as she revealed her vulnerability, warmth and grit, finding new purpose alongside the Doctor, so I wanted to touch on those qualities again. It was incredible hearing Sheridan give life and emotion to the story’s characters and amazing to hear Lucie Miller venting her spleen once more!”

Big Finish Executive Producer, Nick Briggs says:

“Lucie has and always will be very close to my heart. I was there on the day Alan Barnes came up with her character and I was able to suggest several elements of her story. Then Alan, Barnaby Edwards and I worked very hard together in shaping her character across four series of adventures. Most important of all was Sheridan’s input. When we witnessed the brilliance of she could do, we fed that back into the writing, so that Lucie just grew and grew. It’s great to have her returning to Big Finish, and, who knows, perhaps these great Short Trips readings will lead to Lucie making a full-cast return to us one day. There are, after all, many opportunities during her long story with the Eighth Doctor that give us a chance to revisit her era and insert new adventures. But I can confirm there are definitely no plans to reverse [the events of] To The Death.”

The Curse of the Fugue will be released in April 2016… and Sheridan will also return next year with Flashpoint by Andrew Smith, where Lucie will cross paths with futuristic gangsters on the planet Cerberin. More details and a release date for this second Short Trip will be coming soon…

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