For the first time since his surprising appearance at the climax of the 50th anniversary Doctor Who story, The Day of the Doctor, Tom Baker will reprise the role of the mysterious Curator.

Considered by many – but never confirmed on screen – to be a future incarnation of the Doctor, the Curator will take a pivotal role in the forthcoming Eighth Doctor full-cast audio adventure series, Doctor Who: Stranded, making his first introduction in the box set due for release in July 2020.

Doctor Who: Stranded 1 is now available to pre-order as a collector’s edition CD box set (priced at £24.99), or as a digital download (at £19.99) exclusively from www.bigfinish.com.

The TARDIS is gone. Stranded in one time and place, the Doctor, Liv and Helen seek refuge in Baker Street. But the house has changed: they now have neighbours – not all of them welcoming. And someone has a dire warning for the future.

The Doctor and friends face their greatest challenge yet: living one day after another, in 2020 London.

On coming back to the Curator, actor Tom Baker said: “Who would have thought that doing that little scene written for me all those years ago would have such repercussions years and years later? A lot of fans were intrigued by it, and here we are at last doing something else with him.

“We had to have a little discussion about how to do it. The lines as they are written are very evocative but they don't mean exactly what they say. Am I being deliberately evasive, or am I playing a part? Whichever way you look at it, the language remains compelling.”

Producer David Richardson added: “Stranded is Doctor Who, but it’s also a contemporary drama… and present-day Earth is precisely where the Curator resides, so it was an irresistible idea to have him step into this series. We approached Steven Moffat with the idea and he was very enthusiastic - giving us some insights to the character which were incredibly useful! The Curator joins River Song, new UNIT, The Paternoster Gang and Missy at Big Finish - fantastic Steven Moffat creations that have gained an extended life on audio.”

Doctor Who: Stranded 1 contains four intriguing stories:

Lost Property by Matt Fitton

Wild Animals by John Dorney

Must-See TV by Lisa McMullin

Divine Intervention by David K Barnes

Paul McGann stars as the Doctor, alongside Hattie Morahan (Helen Sinclair), Nicola Walker (Liv Chenka), Rebecca Root (Tania Bell), Tom Price (Sergeant Andy Davidson) and Clive Wood (Mr Bird).

Doctor Who: Stranded 1 is now available to pre-order in collector’s edition CD format (priced at £24.99), or on download (at £19.99) at the Big Finish website.

Big Finish listeners can save even more money with a bundle of all four box sets, pre-ordering the entire series of Doctor Who: Stranded for just £88 as a collector’s edition CD box set or £79 as a digital download.