The Seventh Doctor faces off against one of the most dangerous Time Lords in the universe, the Eleven… but is Ace a friend or a foe?

Sylvester McCoy stars as the Seventh Doctor with Sophie Aldred as Ace and Mark Bonnar as the Eleven, in a brand new full-cast audio drama coming from Big Finish in January 2020. In an exclusive to DoctorWho.tv, the cover art is revealed here.

Dark Universe pits the Seventh Doctor against renegade Time Lord, the Eleven, and an old friend who might have become an enemy. Twenty years since she last saw him, Ace hasn’t forgotten the Doctor – but has she forgiven him?

The Eleven has a plan. A grand plan. An appalling plan. A plan that endangers all life in the cosmos. With Ace working against him, the Doctor must rely on scheming Time Lord Cardinal Ollistra for help. The stage is set for an epic confrontation. Because the Doctor has a plan to stop the Eleven. A grand plan. An appalling plan. A plan that endangers all life in the cosmos. Whichever one of them wins, the Dark Universe won’t want to lose...

Mark Bonnar plays the Eleven, a Time Lord psychopath in his eleventh incarnation who retains the personalities of all his previous ones. This is his first meeting with the Seventh Doctor, and it looks like the Eleven has gained the confidence of a former companion.

Actor Sophie Aldred explains:

“We know that Ace is now the CEO of A Charitable Earth. Russell T Davies wrote a line in The Sarah Jane Adventures to say that she'd set up this charity. I reckon she wears a lot of suits, although I like to think she still wears Doc Martens! But we also know at the beginning that she's pretty narked with the Doctor. He's let her down one time too many.”

Is it the same Ace we saw gazing across the London skyline in the trailer for the Season 26 Blu-ray Collection...? Or has Ace taken a darker path?

Sophie continues:

“Ace has had many trajectories in Big Finish stories which is fantastic to play. As an actor I have to work out where we are in her timeline – this is a pretty complex story and it actually took me a while.”

Script Editor, Matt Fitton, explains more:

“In Dark Universe, Ace has been back on Earth a long while. She's set up the charity and is travelling the world making speeches and raising money, but she has also hinted at a figure who manipulated her when she was younger. This is what the Eleven seizes on to 'recruit' her in his scheme against the Doctor.”

Sylvester McCoy adds:

“It's quite intriguing really because we discover Ace after many years and it's fascinating to see what she's become. Now she's a mature lady. When she's in full swing, though, the young teenager comes back. You can hear it in her voice. It's a wonderful role for Sophie to play.”

Doctor Who: Dark Universe will be released in January 2020 and is available for pre-order now from the Big Finish website here